FADE IN:

EXT. ARENA - DAY

The preacher had had enough of Prof’s endearingly logical intellectual oratory on motives and naked truths. Though Prof didn’t embellish his address with the degree of spiritual depth that could rock the preacher’s boat, he still managed to relish his lecture...not until Prof began to seemingly play down on God’s personality with his profound exposition of naked truths. Recall the incident in Galatians chapter two when Peter went visiting Paul at Antioch? By reason of the sacrifice of Christ, the law that forbade Jews from associating with Gentiles had been abolished. But there were certain Jews who still held firmly to the law of Moses while impudently disregarding the gospel of Christ. Peter wasn’t one of them. As a matter of fact, he was the rock upon which Christ had avowed to build his church without the gates of hell prevailing against her. This Peter went visiting Paul at Antioch and dealt with the gentiles there like fellow brethren...even eating with them. Paul had charged thus in1st Corinthians 5:11: “but now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person.” But here was Peter in Antioch, eating with gentiles. That presupposes that those gentiles had become brothers who kept that charge, having heard the gospel and turned a new leave. But something happened when some other Jews came visiting.

Galatians 2:11-12 says: “now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision (Jews).” As a consequence, the rest of the Jews who had mixed freely with those gentiles--also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. Paul couldn’t stand it! Hence, in Galatians 2:14, he rebuked Peter. He’d said: “but when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, ‘if you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?’” Such was the situation that turned out ensuing between Prof and the preacher when Prof’s words began to sound blasphemous in the preacher’s spiritually distinct ears. So he stood up to Prof most solemnly in the sight of all. Peter had taken Paul’s rebuke in good fate, owning up to his hypocrisy. But Prof made it crystal clear to the preacher that he isn’t the rock upon which Christ had avowed to build his church. So he wouldn’t take the preacher’s rebuke in good fate. That’s how a heated wrangle erupted in the arena between both dignitaries...some sort of clash...intellect versus spiritism!

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PREACHER
I clearly understand your unwelcome assertions about what you’ve misrepresented to this audience to be a divine hanky panky--pulled off by God to put man in a fix, and then blaming man for getting caught up in that fix. You wouldn’t be the first individual to posit such logically sacrilegious submission. The apostle Paul, while ministering in Romans chapter nine, had made mention of how God preferred Jacob to Esau and ordained Jacob to rule over Esau though Esau was older, explaining the ordination to have been borne out of God’s love for Jacob and “hatred” for Esau (Esau did nothing to merit hatred). He also pointed the cursor to Pharaoh, of whom it is thus written in Romans 9:17: “...for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” He summed it up with the notion that God only has mercy and compassion on whom he choses (like Jacob) and hardens whom he choses (like Pharaoh). Then he took a peep into what was likely to be the ponderings of his listeners’ hearts. In Romans 9:19, he had said: “you will say to me then, ‘why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?’” All through Paul’s ministry, there are two observable subject matters that he fell short of demystifying. One of them was tendering an answer to this question. So he simply answered it with another question: “...O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘why have you made me like this?’” From time immemorial, people have been in the habit of attempting to box God into their intellectual envelope. To such people, I usually stand up against--like Paul did to Peter. So Prof, I hope you understand my plight and reason for seemingly cutting in on your passionate defense of your school of thought on this delicate subject matter...no offense intended. None at all.

PROF
None taken. But the only understanding I am able to derive from your Paul-like religious tittle-tattle is an absolute support of my motion as outlined in my exposition of motives and naked truths. If not, you would not attempt to do like Paul by merely brushing off my perspectives on the matter. At least Paul endeavored to drop science on Peter at Antioch which Peter found agreeable and got remorseful over. But tell me, what part of all I have called into question on the issue of motives and naked truths is out of place? Doesn’t the son of God pose this question in Luke 14:28: “for which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?” If it is expedient of man (by God) to first sit and count the cost of undertaking a project before embarking on it--to see to it that he has what it takes to finish the project, couldn’t that principle be employed by God to likewise see to it that his motive for creation came through without deficiencies, especially being that God knows the end from the beginning? If man was not designed to fall into the hands of the devil, how come man was made to dwell in a sphere where the devil could access? This same devil attempted overthrowing God in heaven and was deemed unfit to continue dwelling there so he doesn’t cause more damage like he had done by instigating onethird of the angels to join in his rebellion. Yet man, who is but flesh, was made to share a dwelling place with that same devil and wasn’t expected to be outwitted by him? What was Adam/Eve (earthly beings) in comparison to onethird of angels (heavenly beings) that the devil successfully roped into his insurgency? Thus says the Lord in Isaiah 66:1: “heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool.” If the devil could play a fast one on deific entities where God’s throne is, was it mere natural creations at God’s footstool that were required to stand against his scheme?

PREACHER
If the opinion you’re purporting is that God deliberately set up man to fall, you might want to add that even the devil was equally set up to instigate onethird of the angels into the rebellion that saw him getting kicked out of heaven alongside those angels to constitute nuisance on the earth. The forbidden fruit can be branded the stumblingblock that was put in man’s way to ensure their fall. But what about the devil? What, in your professorial opinion, will you assert as having been the obstacle that was put in Lucifer’s way to stir rebellion in him? I’ll appreciate that you backup your argument with concrete, sure enough, incontestable scriptures!

PROF
Do not presume, dear preacher man, that I am in any way obligated to back up obvious statements of facts with flash scriptures just to gratify your religiousness. If, however, I am to indulge you on that request just once, there wouldn’t be better scriptures to cite than Acts 18:24-26. Do not bother reaching for your bible, as I will recite it by heart. It says: “now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” It is said of this man that he was mighty in the scriptures. Plus, he was instructed in the way of the Lord. He was also fervent in spirit...and was even deemed trustworthy enough to speak and teach the things of the Lord, which he did most accurately with boldness. But this man had a shortcoming: he knew only the baptism of John. It took a couple who had been exposed to the gospel of Christ--for this man to get past basking in John’s baptism to becoming veritably inducted into the body of Christ. Do I impress you, preacher man? But then, his scriptural might went nowhere in accounting for his doctrinal accuracy nor factual exactness. If realities on the subject of motives and naked truths were to be deduced from that man’s bold declarations of the baptism of John--in accordance with his scriptural might--for the gratification of the likes of you, then an entire audience--as is here present, would have had to forcibly relish his notional ideas on what he impeccably considered the crux of the matter. Gratefully, there was Aquila and Priscilla to explain God’s ways to him more accurately, which made for his ability to vigorously refute the Jews afterwards and show from scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. Am I making good intercourse?

PREACHER
You do impress me, Prof, but not as much by your seeming scriptural soundness as by your sweetly amplified colorful eloquence. Doubtless, you’re a voice in the field of academia where making good intercourse comes in handy. But as it has to do with rightly dividing the word of truth and earning God’s approval as a worker who needs not be ashamed by reason of that propensity, it’ll take more than a tendency to impress and a proclivity for noetic exaggerations. My request is simple: backup your argument with concrete, sure enough, incontestable scriptures...not school me on events that have no bearing with the issue at hand. Aren’t you supposed to present unarguable facts about how much of a villain God is, drawing backing from God’s own words to further prove how much of a victim God has made out of man?

PROF
Of course! But making my argument scripture-based doesn’t come in as handy in the field of academia as making good intercourse does. And you will agree with me that if my argument must come off as satisfactory and acceptable to all and sundry, making good intercourse will be of the essence--with backing drawn from multiple reliable and verifiable sources, scriptures being one of those sources. At this point it is pertinent to bear in mind the sort of audience being addressed here. It is not a religious sort--in which case my presentment would have to be based on doctrines that tailor the lifestyles of trusties to a one-way-fits-all belief system. It is a mix, and as such, requires substantial tutelage that makes for broadened understanding.

PREACHER
Of all educators who have walked the earth, there’s been none like Christ the King. Yet, all his “presentments” were drawn from the writings of certified stewards of the mysteries of God’s kingdom. And he didn’t limit his teachings to Jews alone but extended his footprints to the gentiles, which is why, even you--in making good intercourse, have endeavored to draw from the same infallible source. Otherwise, what basis have you to pertly discount the persona of God to a mixed multitude who are all creations of that God? Laic books? Stoic philosophy? Intellectuality? What? If you say books, are you more well-read than Jesus? He overcame the tempter with what is written--which he had read, and he always knew the exact nail to hit on the head. There was no end to the Pharisees, Sadducees and even commoners who came around to test him with tricky enquiries, hoping that he ensnares himself by saying the wrong things. The only way Christ sailed through those queries was by what is written. At some point he even questioned them thus: “have you not read?” And these were lofty Jewish teachers, sound academicians and stoic philosophers. It so happened that they couldn’t stand the doctrinal depth of one they considered unschooled. So they sought to put stumbling blocks on his way by employing all manner of stoicism and philosophy...to no avail. Eventually they had no option but to concede. Matthew 22:46 says: “and no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.” So you see, Prof, if you’re going to hit the nail, it better be on the head: a wholesome intercourse...such as can truly impart this highly esteemed audience. Wholesome intercourse indeed!

PROF
Perhaps I should start by posing some questions to you...questions unlike those of the Pharisees, Sadducees and even commoners who, according to you, usually came over to test Jesus with tricky enquiries and hoping he falls short in his utterances. I do hope, however, that--like Jesus, you do not fall short in your own utterances. Mr. Preacher man, would you, wanting to train up your child in the way he should go--so that when he is old he will not depart from it, gift the child with a bible which is able to make him wise for salvation through faith, and still bestow him with mystic books? Wouldn’t that be a deliberate attempt at making a saint and serpent out of one individual? And when that individual tilts more towards the serpent, why play Pope John Paul by seemingly chastising and even punishing him for not leaning more towards biblical precepts? Tell me, preacher man, wasn’t that what happened in Eden to the acclaimed first couple? Their creation is said to have been free from all manner of blemishes...unlike that of men like David, who, in Psalm 51:5, admits thus: “behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” Since the couple had the selfsame nature of God, how come Satan outwitted them?

TRUTH

Again, the motive behind God’s conscription of Noah to institute that doom—was not just to wipe out sinful humanity; but to take another shot at establishing Eden—spearheaded by the survivors, who, by all standards, qualified as reliable sources from whence the next phase of humanity could emanate. Accordingly, the next phase of humanity emanated from them—in adherence to a similitude of the charge that was given to Adam and Eve, posited thus in Genesis 9:7: “and as for you, be fruitful and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it.” Most impressively, Noah started out by shouldering that responsibility very well; like Adam and Eve in the beginning.

In Genesis 9:20 it is written that “…Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.” But this moral excellence was quickly succeeded by a vice that gave rise to moral weaknesses and decadence which reverted the earth to its previous state…and even worse. It took Adam and Eve an interval of one chapter (of the bible) to fall from grace. It was in Genesis 2:7 and Genesis 2:22 that God formed Adam and Eve respectively. It wasn’t until Genesis 3:6 that the couple consumed the forbidden fruit. But it took Noah an interval of just one verse to fall woefully from grace despite his being instrumental to the wiping out of fellows who were—in contrast to him—alienated from grace.

In Genesis 9:20 “…Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.” And in Genesis 9:21 he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. Just as modern preachers have made reference to Cain’s godless city to be the root of Babylon the great, Noah has likewise been referenced as being the inventor of alcohol, as the first mention of alcohol in scriptures is in Genesis 9:21 where Noah drank and was drunk and became uncovered.

The consequence of Noah’s drinking spree popped open doors to numerous vices that would have brought about another phase of humanity wipeout with flood if God had not covenanted with Noah to never again cut off all flesh by the waters of flood nor destroy the earth with flood. That’s how rainbow came to be in the cloud…a sign of that covenant between God and the earth. Howbeit, there’s a dreadful wiping out of sinful humanity in view…not with flood, but with fire. And that will be due to the indulging of several vices; as ushered in by Noah’s drinking spree back then. Firstly, his second son, Ham, saw Noah’s unclothedness and irreverently whispered it to his two brothers.

The brothers acted nobly towards their father by covering his unclothedness with a blanket without as much as taking a quick glance at his bareness. While their respectability earned them fatherly blessings, Ham’s irreverence brought his seed a horrid curse. “Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren.” That was Noah’s pronouncement on Ham’s son, Canaan—the much coveted land of milk and honey. Why was Canaan cursed instead of Ham? Because God had already blessed Noah and his household before the flood.

As it is popularly said, “who God has blessed, no man can curse.” Since Noah couldn’t curse Ham, he transferred it to Canaan, Ham’s son. Wasn’t that why the Israelites could afford to oust them and takeover their land despite the fierce giants who embellished their nation? How those giants came to again be on earth after the flood is another unresolved puzzle that definitely stemmed from further vices which had none else but Noah and Co. as source…even continuing till this present day.

Even if God had not covenanted with Noah to never again cut off all flesh nor destroy the earth with flood, would a series of humanity wipeout have brought the human race to the point of attaining God’s motive for creating man? After the flood, there’s no historical biblical record of the many generations that succeeded Noah’s. It’s just genealogy all through the tenth chapter of Genesis. And in the eleventh chapter, what looks like an ultimate attainment of God’s motive for the creation of man is noticed. It says: “now the whole earth had one language and one speech.” In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had one language and speech for a long time and things remained just as God intended…until the serpent showed up with another language and speech, then things went south!

Supposedly thankfully, the whole earth was able to get back to having one language and speech as they journeyed from the east until they found a plain in the land of Shinar where they concordantly reached a resolve to make their dwelling place. As it turned out, the motive that became derivable from their much-commendable oneness of language and speech was in total contrast to everything God stands for! In line with the progression of the sinful state of mankind, it was earlier accounted that Adam and Eve only wanted to be like God while Cain wanted God out of the way completely because he considered God a nuisance that needed to be gotten rid of. So he slayed his only brother, Abel, the one fellow who seemed to have the monopoly of invoking God’s presence, unlike him. Therefore, he stirred God’s wrath and got banished. But by the time it got to Genesis 11, mankind had assumed a new dimension of sinfulness: apostasy.

The world’s population today runs into billions…persons of diverse tongues and languages littered across the global village. It is unimaginable to bring all these persons to be of one language and speech. In the book of revelation where a record of the survivors of the great tribulation is given, it is said that they’ll emerge from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. Of these survivors, Revelation 7:16-17 says that “they shall neither hunger nor thirst anymore; and that the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat scorch them because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd and lead them to living fountains of waters…and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” It will neither take them being of one language and speech to attain such eternal blessedness nor survive the worst of all end-time fates: the great tribulation. Yet, in the early days of human existence when mankind had gone haywire, peoples of the whole earth still managed to have one language and speech? How so?

Well, not even the God of all the earth bothered about how they came to be of one language and speech. He only acknowledged the reality of that situation and the unfailing result it was bound to yield. By the way, those guys had said to themselves: “come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” Mere mortals, purposing in their hearts to build themselves a city and a tower whose top reaches the heavens—where God is? And God acknowledged that nothing they propose to do will be withheld from them by reason of them having come to be of one language and speech? Amazing!

Because God had covenanted with Noah to never again cut off all flesh nor destroy the earth with flood, He communed with His dearest Son and Holy Spirit on the next suitable means of averting the apostasy that those rebellious and sinful men were on the brink of inaugurating. As seen in Genesis 11:7, God said: “come, let Us go down and confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.” The delighting efficacy of that strategy is seen in the very next verse. It says: “so the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.” Consequentially, that city was named Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth and scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. That was a superb remedy to the situation…just like the flood of Noah.

But then again, did that remedy bring the human race to the point of attaining God’s motive for creating man? No! The truth about fallen humanity lies in the morally reprehensible state of man’s heart—as seen in Jeremiah 17:9: “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” In the last two verses of John chapter two, Jesus wouldn’t commit Himself to those who had come to believe Scriptures and the word He had spoken to them because He could read the terrible states of men’s hearts and knew what was in human nature.

The ultimate remedying of humanity’s situation would have been an absolute discontinuing of the race. But for some reason, God just wouldn’t…definitely because, being God, He knew the end from the beginning. So, though He regretted creating man at some point, He also knew that the “grass situation” of the human race would end in grace. Doesn’t Revelation 13:8 make reference to a Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world? Didn’t John testify of that Lamb as being the One who’d take away the world’s sins? For being burdened with such magnitude of glorious purpose, wasn’t that Lamb oppressed/afflicted, yet would not as much as whisper in vexation? Didn’t that Lamb remain silent when led to the slaughter and as a sheep to its shearers?

Wasn’t that Lamb’s life exchanged for the freedom of a corrupt murderous rotten criminal? Wasn’t He despised and rejected by men? Didn’t He come to be a man of sorrows who got deeply acquainted with grief? Didn’t the human race He came to save—hide their faces from Him and wouldn’t esteem Him? Yet he bore the grief of all and carried the sorrows of sundry…which was how grace came on board the human race and has salvaged many situations that would have warranted tempestuous wipeouts like Noah’s flood and the tower of Babel. After those incidents, another phase of genealogy is promulgated up until the time of a man who came to be known as God’s friend, whose belief in God was credited unto him as righteousness, who was the first beneficiary of grace…long before grace was formally inaugurated after Christ’s ascension.

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NAKED TRUTH

The word, “truth,” refers to “facts that have been verified and are in conformity to reality and actuality; a true statement with the quality of being correct, true, or close to the true value.” That definition of truth would have been flawless if not for the clause inferred at the end: “…or close to the true value.” Ordinarily, there would be no need for what’s come to be deemed “naked truth” if truth were really statements of fact that are in conformity to reality and actuality—with the quality of being correct, true, and above all, verified.

So, though the bible attests of truth as an unfailing phenomenon that is potently capable of delivering folks from backbreaking slaveries, there are deeper dimensions of truth, that—should I say—go beyond being capable of delivering folks from backbreaking slaveries to piercing to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow…even going as far as discerning the motives of one’s heart? I’m talking about dimensions of truth that strictly comprise plain unadorned facts without concealment/embellishment…the precise feature that earns it the qualifier: “naked.” Ever uncovered naked truths? How was the experience? Bad? Good?

Well, the exposition of naked truth that follows—will no doubt afford you unusual realizations that might make you brush aside what you have—thus far—held as truth. The truth is: it will take more than goodwill and a disposition towards godliness for mankind to attain God’s motives for creation. That’s why the prestigious Law of Moses had to discontinue upon the inauguration of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit; which rests and abides with us. But you know what the naked truth is? There didn’t have to be grace—to rule out the Law of Moses—for the redemption of humanity. There didn’t have to be humanity in the first place—if the need for redemption was going to arise.

Doesn’t God proclaim himself in Isaiah 46:10 as one who declares the end from the beginning, who from ancient times foretell things that are not yet done? In essence, nothing that became and is still becoming of humanity is alien to God. If the situation with humanity is examined from logical perspectives, one could easily assert that God purposely set up humanity to fall short of attaining his motive for creation. So, while Adam and Eve were consecrated and commissioned to superintend over the affairs of the Garden of Eden, an occasion for unfailing compromise was “constituted” to ensure their fall from that initial immaculate grace. Of necessity there were all those trees in the garden for the couple to eat of. But what exactly was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil doing there—if it wasn’t for their consumption? There were several other endeavors in that garden that were absolutely harmless…and only became harmful after the fall of man. For instance, there were no wild animals in Eden.

All animals were domestic because they posed no harm to man. There were no ailments in Eden no matter the manner of contact between Adam/Eve and those creatures. The same applies for absolutely everything the garden constituted of. Adam and Eve couldn’t possibly drown in the four rivers of Eden if they plunged themselves into it. Eden was Eden indeed…a blissful paradise of holy creations…except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It would be delusion to think that the only flaw the couple committed was to eat from that tree. They must have spent nights in Lions’ dens and the Lions didn’t consume them. They must have stepped on Tigers’ tails yet the Tigers didn’t pounce on them. For goodness sake, they were even naked and didn’t know! So, what purpose was that tree supposed to serve?

That logicality no doubt challenges Paul’s charge in Romans 9:20: “…O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, ‘why have you made me like this?’” It could also seem like a dent on God’s image, some sort of flaw that projects God as being “not so sacred after all.” Why create man with the motive of having him bask in your presence forever, then set him up to fall short and become undeserving of your presence? And then regret creating man, even when you knew that man would certainly fall short and become undeserving of your presence? It doesn’t end there. Remedies that were sure not to remedy the fall of man were proposed over and again, even with full awareness that those remedies would go nowhere in remedying fallen humanity.

The Law came and was abolished because it couldn’t serve its required purpose. Prophets came on board and foretold of woes to come—in a bid to draw the consciousness of man to pending dreads, yet man wouldn’t fear nor deem the words of those prophets to count for anything. Even records of past horrible woes that would reoccur if man held onto vices—went nowhere in taming the rebellious nature of man, and God knew that man would become like this. It didn’t take him off-guard. Even the ultimate remedy—the sacrifice of Christ—had been put in place before the foundation of the earth was laid—to salvage humanity upon its assumption of what would have been an irredeemable state of affairs. What exactly was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil doing in that garden? To bring about all these?

ABSTRACT

Newton’s first law states that “every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force.” And then, his third law states that for every action or force in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. To expound this law for easy understanding of the most lay of men, this brief explanation was offered: “if object A exerts a force on object B, object B also exerts an equal and opposite force on object A. In other words, forces result from interactions.”

The way of the human species—by divine ordination—is to interact. It is famously said that “no man is an island.” For that reason, after God formed diverse living creatures and brought them to Adam for naming—and was very impressed by Adam’s performance—He couldn’t help noticing that, unlike the living creatures, Adam had no one to interact with. That observation gave rise to the famous scripture: “…it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” As a consequence, Eve came into the picture, her arrival duly acknowledged thus by Adam: “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.”

Going by the series of events that ensued from Genesis 1:3 when God said “let there be light—to Genesis 2:18 when God said “it is not good that man should be alone;” hence making him a helper in the person of Eve, the motives upon which God undertook those courses of actions were not just excellent…they were magnificently resplendent, with consummate purity, clean and unalloyed.

Adam, upon saddling himself with the superb purpose of naming those creatures, was thoroughly apolitical in his discharging of that responsibility, which is why there’s been no identity crises in the animal kingdom from the beginning of time until this very moment. Eve also came on board, and, to assume justly, fell in line with the purpose for which she was made, commendably being a help meet to Adam…until a third party showed up on the scene, uninvited.

His name was Satan, the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil. He still goes by that name today, even evermore. Employing the devilish subtlety which holds him in infamy, he beguiled the woman with the motive of switching places with her and her husband. The aim was to draw her in with goodly words, create a temptation that she was sure not to resist, and give her space to fall into it. Quite lamentably, she did…not just her, but her husband as well. It took another Adam, the man—Jesus—with the purest of motives, to right every wrong that was implemented by the serpent…no thanks to the sin of disobedience which had taken its toll on the first couple in the history of the world. Life continued…and from generation to generation, the world keeps revolving, evolving and being sustained by the exploits of mankind—as inspired by a mix of assorted motives which make for the black-and-white state of affairs in the universe today. Motives have been the doing of many excellences in our world today. And you know what else? Motives have also been the doing of numerous evils…as shall be accounted in this literary composition.

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INTRODUCTION

All through history, there are unending accounts of ventures that start out under the most promising of circumstances—only to end up in the worst of status quos. One could indicate that one of such ventures was the creation of earth. Upon completion of creation, the bible accounts that God saw everything He had made and remarked that; indeed, it was very good. But if that be the case, how come about the relentless ugliness that taints and keeps tainting the earth determinedly? God’s motives for creating the earth were beyond pure. But then there was Adam and Eve Whom God conscripted into earthly service to start off by tending to the Garden of Eden and possibly extend their footprint beyond the garden in the course of time, after having been vetted and esteemed worthy of expansion.

The couple took their eyes off the big picture by entertaining a foul motive that robbed them of all of God’s goodness which was to be the modus operandi of their existence. The instruction was simple and generous: “of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” However, having learnt from an uninvited guest about the supposed vantage that flouting that order would afford them, they didn’t think twice before daring to dethrone their monarch in an attempt to assume his throne.

That didn’t work out well for them, as is common knowledge. What was supposed to be a supreme advantage to the duo—turned out being their most pitiable impediment. First, they lost the garden. And then they were subjected to a life of hard labor under the most stringent of conditions. To the woman God said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception. In pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to the man, God said: “because you have heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘you shall not eat of it’: cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken…for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” The serpent also had its share of woes pronounced on him. That wouldn’t be expected to really matter, given that it was already a damned being. All the same, the woe pronounced on the serpent put it in a position where it will have to be in perpetual enmity with the woman…while its seed likewise remains in perpetual enmity with the woman’s seed. Not that the serpent was ever interested in befriending the woman or have its seed befriend the woman’s seed. It knew what it wanted from the start, and that was to rob man of his place in God, take over everything God had put in man’s charge, and make a downright, absolute mess of them!

It was man who failed to recognize the wolf that had come to them in sheep’s clothing. It was man who daftly entertained an obvious uninvited guest into God’s sphere and went ahead to dottily esteem its strange counsel over God’s Word—due to the unhealthy motive the serpent had successfully introduced into their hearts. So, after God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils for him to become a living being, he really wanted his eyes opened so he can become like God? And after God caused a deep sleep to fall on man, took one of his ribs and made into woman, brought her to him so she can be a help meet for him, all she did at some point was to covet a fruit that is desirable to make one wise so she’d eat and become like God, knowing good and evil?

No wonder God regretted creating man. One would have thought that—after such terrible ordeal which led to an irredeemable loss (if not for the love of God and sacrifice of Christ), Adam and Eve would have endeavored to see to it that a repeat of such idiocy never again ensued. But it did…not too far down the line, as their very first offspring took it to a whole other level. The couple only wanted to be like God. But Cain wanted God out of the picture completely. He considered God a nuisance that needed to be gotten rid of. So he slayed his brother, Abel, the one fellow who seemed to have the monopoly of invoking God’s presence, unlike him. Therefore, he stirred God’s wrath and got banished……with pleasure.

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UNCLOTHEDNESS

Coming to the realization of the fact that they were naked—was only the beginning of an eye-opener that would make for the shame of Adam and Eve, and indeed all of humanity. Not only did they sow fig leaves to make coverings for their unclothedness, they also couldn’t stand the presence of their own creator, who, before now, was in the habit of habitually fellowshipping with them. Cain took after his parents so perfectly. He also could not stand God’s presence at some point; and happily welcomed a life of exile. He even beckoned on God to bolster him with long life so he would have an extended swell-time playing vagabond in the earth. Guess what?

He built a nation and threw open citizenry to fellows from all nooks and crannies of the earth—whose ancestries remain unaccounted for…till date. Meanwhile, Abel was dead and gone…the only account left of him being that his blood cries out for vengeance. As if that wasn’t a terrible-enough fate for such a pure soul, our merciful Savior, Christ the Lord, had His own blood spilled for the remission of humanity’s sin, and from thence onward, His blood speaks better things than the blood of Abel, totally writing off the vengeful cries of Abel’s blood.

Cain lived on, founded a city that’s been referenced by modern preachers to have been the root of Babylon the great, that great city, accounted of—in Revelation 18:2 as having at some point fallen and become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! Logically questioning, could those demons and foul spirits and unclean/hated birds have been the entities that constituted citizenry in the city Cain built and named after his son, Enoch? Just think about it.

Cain may have invested lots of time and energy into building Enoch—as well as effect a system that had it crisscross generations from Genesis to Revelation. But God’s judgment came on it in an instant, and in an hour, it fell to ruins. Of that godforsaken city and its momentary destruction, John the beloved accounts thus in Revelation 18:3-10: “for all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.

And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her. In the measure that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, in the same measure give her torment and sorrow; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as queen, and am no widow, and will not see sorrow.' Therefore, her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.” A soothing recompense…at long last!

Be that as it may, the most fascinating thing about Babylon the great—would not be her fornication with diverse earthly kings, or the earthly merchants who became rich through the abundance of her luxury, or her irreverent boastfulness, or even the variety of assorted commodities she transacted. It would be a peculiar merchandise she trafficked, reflected in the last words of Revelation 18:13 “…and bodies and souls of men.” Bodies and souls of men? Really? And it’s Cain who started all these? After murdering his righteous brother? Wasn’t this same Cain the great-great-grand father of the first polygamous man in the history of mankind?

Didn’t the polygamous man, Lamech by name, having taken excellently after Cain, killed a man for merely wounding him, as well as a young man for merely hurting him? Hadn’t he in confidence confided in his wives about those atrocities, admitting to them about having drawn inspiration from Cain to perform those deeds? In Genesis 4:24, he bragged: “if Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” Only God knows how much further he went on with the mayhems…no thanks to the malevolent foundation that had been laid by Cain. The progression of humanity turned out the exact opposite of God’s motive for creation, such that God lamented in Genesis 6:5-6 which says: “then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” God was very grieved.

Imagine that the most-high God got grieved over the structures erected by the descendants of Cain upon the foundation he had laid. Not just Cain and his descendants this time…but mankind in general, as seen in Genesis 6:1-2 which accounts that “…it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.” Wasn’t this why God avowed that His Spirit shall not strive with man forever because man is indeed flesh; and that man’s days shall be one hundred and twenty years? Wasn’t it on account of those unhallowed union that giants came to be on earth, resulting from the seeds of those union?

Didn’t those seeds come to be esteemed as the mighty men of old/men of renown whose escapades drew God’s attention to a point where He saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil continually? The Lord God couldn’t help being sorry that He had made man on the earth. He couldn’t help being grieved in His heart over what was supposed to be His most excellent creation…and deemed it overly fit to conscript the next righteous man after Enoch (not Cain’s son but the Enoch who walked in habitual fellowship with God and didn’t see death because God took him home) to institute a doom that would wipe out sinful humanity. That man was Noah, and, as the story has it, was—alongside his family—the only survivor of the flood that cleansed the earth.

KNOWLEDGE (CLARITY)

John 1:5 says: “and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” In Psalm 119:105, the psalmist says: “your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Those scriptures give expression to the biblical perspective of light—which is particularly peculiar to those of the Christian faith…and perhaps, folks who hold biblical accounts in high esteem. But then, a generally acceptable definition of light to fellows in all works of life is that “light is a source of illumination.” Even the famed Thomas Edison, renowned for his invention of the light bulb, only turned his attention to light bulbs to solve the problem of illumination. Light, like many other entities, has its functions. Diverse theories concordantly put forward these functions to include visibility, activity, plausibility, reinforcement, composition, punctuation, revelation of form, mood/atmosphere, and so on. In the same vein, diverse theories also share common grounds as it has to do with the types of lights. These functions and types of lights have explanations that must be made plain—to afford comprehensibility to learners. But hardly do these theories and explanations point to “clarity” as being a prerequisite of light. It is mostly about illumination.

Howbeit, when it comes to Jesus (the Son of God/Word of God) as being light, it is a different ballgame entirely. Therein do the functions of light go beyond the above-listed to include beatitudes like life—as evident in John 1:4 which says: “in Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Another is Christ Himself, evident in John 8:12: “then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Another is the born-again believer, of whom Matthew 5:14 says: “you are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Of the same category of persons, Acts 13:47 says: “for so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’” And then the Word of God itself, thus extolled by the psalmist in Psalm 119:130: “the entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” There are lots more, littered across pages of the holy book. As earlier noted, the thing about the function of this divine light is that it breeds aliveness, as distinguished from merely giving illumination. It does give illumination…just not the kind of illumination from Edison’s light bulb. It gives celestial radiance. Heavenly glow. Profound brilliance. It is God’s illumination.

The difference between the function of conventional lights and that of divine light can be deduced from a megahit literary work on the Nigerian State by a keen patriot—titled; “Mr. President (Uproar 2023).” Making an assertion that reveals the pros and cons of both lights on a perturbed nation, he posited thus: “that wasn’t new. Long before the coming of missionaries and masters, there usually were such wars. But they were mere trivial violent exchanges that couldn’t at the most be counted for war. Howbeit, upon the departure of the masters, the trivial violent exchanges escalated into heated frenzies and ultimately pitched to a bloody civil war! It could be that the light that had dawned on Nigeria—had been overcome by darkness. But if the holy book is anything to go by, darkness never overcomes light. Therefore, would it be safe to say that light had not dawned on Nigeria after all? The light had dawned on Nigeria…just not the light of men which shines in darkness without being overcome by the darkness: (Jn 1:4-5). That’s probably why it was so quick to again give way to a formless, desolate, water-covered, darkness engulfed Nigeria. Now, there’s an uproar! The people want Mr. President to bring back the light, not just any light, but the light of men, such as dawns when the Spirit of God moves and God speaks!”: (Genesis 1:2-3).

It is clear from that patriot’s position that conventional lights have pros and cons. But for divine light, it is pros all the way, which is why people from different backgrounds/upbringings only endeavored to clamor for the light that dawns when the Spirit of God moves and God speaks…as was in Genesis 1:2-3: “the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘let there be light’; and there was light.” This divine light is found all through the pages of the bible to overcome all the darkness that appealed to its remediation. There are many of them: from Exodus 13:21 where the Lord went before the Israelites by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light…to Joseph preserving the entire world for seven years of famine by the light of God’s wisdom that saw him deriving a precise connotation to Pharaoh’s problematic dream and proffering the most suitable resolve. And then there was Daniel in Babylon, in whom dwelt an excellent spirit, whom God gave knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and understanding in all visions and dreams, which is the reason he was found to be ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all of king Nebuchadnezzar’s realm.

The story of Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling nightmare is not alien to the world and its people. What, however, was alien to all—was the connotation thereof, and it took Daniel to arrive at that connotation. How so? Well, Daniel 2:1-6 says that “…in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, ‘I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.’ Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, ‘O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.’ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, ‘my decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore, tell me the dream and its interpretation.” It is on record that none of them could come through for the distressed king.

That caused the king to issue a fatal decree in anger and fury, requiring that all the wise men of Babylon be killed, including Daniel. So the decree went out and they began killing the wise men. They sought Daniel and his companions to kill them. With counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch (the captain of the king's guard) who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; saying: “why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house and made the decision known to his companions—that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. The crux is in Daniel 2:19: “then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” In appreciation, Daniel hallowed God. In his words: “blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.”

The last words of Daniel’s speech above go thus: “…and light dwells with him.” Take note: light. It was the absence of light that caused the king to be troubled by his nightmares. It was the absence of light that caused his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to fall short of giving a soothing interpretation to the dream. The absence of light almost cost Babylon’s choicest government officials their lives. But the presence of light remediated it all…not just any light…but the light of Christ which shines in Darkness without being comprehended by the darkness. It is clear from this discussion that the heavenly light bears untold functions that set it outstandingly apart from other lights…hence, unfailingly yielding a profound knowledge that breeds a desperately sought-after, coveted, unmatched clarity. Studies may not esteem clarity as a function of conventional lights. But isn’t it safe to assert that the sole function of the light of Christ—is to afford clarity? For, as written in Isaiah 9:2: “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” And in Psalms 119:105 cited above says: “thy word is light”: [paraphrased]. Of this word, which is light, John 17:17 says: “Your word is truth.” Then, speaking of this truth, John 8:32 says: “and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” To note, chiefly, is that these are consequences of the heavenly light, not just giving clarity, but affording knowledge too…and indeed encompassing all elements of clarity discussed here—to arrive at it: be it sight, vision, implementation, etc. What more can one testify about this light?

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CONCLUSION

From complexity to easiness on account of clarity…aren’t we so thankful for light? Do you know what else is praiseworthy? Sight, of course, plus vision, and implementation, which unitedly played key roles to arrive at light as an ultimate outcome, thus yielding a profound knowledge that breeds a desperately sought-after, coveted, unmatched clarity. Again, aren’t we thankful for the outcome of light? Aren’t we thankful for the clarity afforded by knowledge? Aren’t we thankful for implementation? Aren’t we thankful for vision? Beloved people, aren’t we thankful for sight? I, for one, am…beyond measure, as a matter of fact, and I have no doubts that you do, too. Therefore, going forward, clarity shall come cheaply because of this understanding of the modus operandi of its elements thereof…just as silver and gold, though next to God in a hierarchy under the sun, was made to become a common normal by king Solomon in 2nd Chronicles 1:15 which says: “also the king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones…” Think about it: silver and gold becoming like mere rocks and stones? Mere play toys in the hands of children? Oh yes! That’s the fate of clarity henceforth via knowledge, for, knowing the truth freed the disciples from deception, errors, and heresies…as it is written: “and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” But then, having read up to this point, the big question to ask self is this: “has the insight afforded me by this piece served the purpose of affording me the profound knowledge that would breed my desperately sought-after, coveted, unmatched clarity? Has it aided the uncovering of a long-sought truth?

Or, has it only done well in equipping me to stand a chance with solving seeming mysteries and puzzles of life henceforth? This is the point where I draw the curtain with a priceless question posed to the Lord Jesus by Pilate shortly before passing a death verdict on him. Having been presented with diverse allegations/accusations against Jesus, he thought it wise to have a word with Jesus and find things out for himself. Jesus’ words to him were: “are you speaking for yourself about this? Or did others tell you this concerning Me?” Pilate answered, “am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now My kingdom is not from here.” Pilate therefore said to Him, “are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “you say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” It was in response—that Pilate posed the said question to Jesus. He had asked: “what is the truth?” And so, having read thus far and possibly gained plausible insight as to leveraging the elements of clarity discussed herein to uncover the truth, would you say you’ve gained knowledge that has given you clarity and aided the uncovering of long-sought truths? If not, it’s okay. Give it time. Knowledge isn’t cheap. But if yes, like Pilate, I ask: “what is the truth?”

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©Jezuzboi, 2022.

ABSTRACT

There’s this phrase: “the more you look, the less you see.” Doesn’t appeal to reason at a first impression. Why should it? The essence of “looking” is “seeing.” And looking more should amount to seeing more. So, when the reverse turns out the case, there’s likely something in the closet that needs some cleaning out. It’s one thing to arrive at the realization that something somewhere needs cleaning out. It’s another thing entirely to act on that realization and follow up with due implementation. Going by definition, the term “implementation” amiably refers to “the act of accomplishing some aim or executing some order.” In effect, the knowledge possessed via looking and seeing—ought to be acted on—to achieve the desired result or desired results. In this context, that result is nothing but “clarity.” Elements of this clarity would then be sight, vision, implementation, outcome, and knowledge. But if the sufficiency of sight only amounts to impaired vision, there’s then a deficiency of knowledge, and implementation becomes unlikely. With implementation being farfetched, there’s bound to be no outcome whatsoever. An attempt at deriving a result from such complexity—only gives rise to another infamous phrase: “merry-go-round.” Is it on record anywhere that clarity was ever achieved by way of a merry-go-round? Let’s see!

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INTRODUCTION

“I will make all my goodness pass before thee…” Those were God’s words to Moses in Exodus 33:19. As a consequence, the book of Genesis came to be on record…and will so be for all eternity. Likewise, in Revelation 1:19, Jesus’ exact words to the beloved disciple were: “write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.” It might take an in-depth expositional teaching by certified stewards of the mysteries of God’s kingdom—for one to learn how much of a merry-go-round it took for all of God’s goodness to pass before Moses, resulting in the clarity that birthed the book of Genesis. Thankfully, the book of revelation is at the tip of every finger. All it takes to get a heads-up on the merry-go-round of the beloved disciple in the heavenly realm is simply inquiring into that book. It’s all there: the angels, elders, sequential blowing of trumpets, the voices, seals, sights, visions, beasts, knowledge, outcomes, and whatnot. From being in desert regions on the Lord’s day to getting transported to terrains far away, the beloved disciple was filled in on details upon details of deific info until he had his fill of them and begged to have no more…a seeming merry-go-round that had him schooled by elders, beasts, and angels across realms. In that region, a common phrase that portrays his crisscrossing of realms is: “come up hither.” To keep beholding new sights, amassing new visions, and acquiring new knowledge, he had to keep assuming new heights until all that was intended to be shown to him—was shown to him. Only then could there be an implementation: documentation thereof; of knowledge acquired through the seeming merry-go-round, ultimately resulting in such clarity that gave rise to an outcome known evermore as “the book of revelation.”

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SIGHT

Now, was clarity achieved by the beloved disciple through a seeming merry-go-round that saw him mounting heights upon heights to behold sights upon sights? If a read of the book of revelation strikes chords, then there lies the answer. Many persons in the Christian faith owe their steadfast allegiance to the true God on account of the writings documented in revelation. That documentation, however, was the outcome of an implementation that was based on knowledge—gained through sight and vision, encompassing all the elements of clarity discussed in this piece. Revelation 1:2 evidences this when it says: “who testifies to everything he saw...” To the savorers of that account, the very next verse of that scripture admonishes thus: “blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it because the time is near.”

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VISION

An excellent dictionary definition of “sight” holds that “sight is the act of looking, seeing, or observing.” Of vision, the same dictionary holds that “vision is a vivid mental image.” With the layman’s understanding, the above definition of sight affords an insight into it as being a “now thing.” That is, when it comes to sight, it is a present continuous state of affairs. It has to do with what is in view at the moment. Drawing from the beloved disciple’s experience in the divine realm—as recorded in revelation, he was shown sights upon sights that enriched him with in-depth knowledge. But to bring about an outcome through implementation, he must have leveraged vision because going by another definition of vision, it would take vision to recollect/form mental images of the sights he saw, which he put down in writing. Unlike sight (which has to do with the present moment), vision stretches to encompass a wide range of sights from the past, present, and even future. What’s more is: beyond stretching to encompass a wide range of sights from past, present, and future, it comprises other factors like imagination, experience, sensation, and creativity, to list a few. Thus, for the beloved to have documented his sights on record, he had to cast his mind back to all he saw, form mental images of his experience, recall the sensations afforded him by dazzling moods/atmosphere of that realm, then creatively put them in writing to pass down the knowledge.

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IMPLEMENTATION

The essence of employing these elements is to arrive at an outcome that affords clarity. The process of employing these elements to arrive at that outcome is the implementation thereof, which in this case is the systematic documentation of diverse data—garnered by a wealth of bitter and nice experiences. The beloved disciple adopted Habakkuk 2:1-2 in his implementation. Having stood upon his watch and set himself on the rampart to watch and see what God would say to him (and what he would answer when corrected), God’s words to him had been: “write the vision and make it plain on tablets—that he may run who reads it.” Thence was the revelation of John birthed and published for studying and consideration by believers of Jesus Christ…to the end that members of Christian denominations may draw advantage from that account and ensure an exemption of self from the inevitable woes contained therein—to be dealt on nonbelievers. Over two thousand years back when John’s account was birthed and published, a peculiar cautionary advice littered all over that chronicle was that the time for the coming-to-pass of those things was near, and it was expedient of believers to take to heart the divine cautions that had been relayed to the churches by their specific angel. If the people of John’s time had been told that two thousand years would pass before John’s account comes to pass, they would have doubted, considering the urgency with which the alarming account was relayed, one of them is this: “I come quickly.” But Habakkuk 2:3 makes it known that “…the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” To this implementation, there’s been a variety of outcomes.

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OUTCOME (LIGHT)

Genesis 1:3-4: “then God said, ‘let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.” To the various outcomes that come by way of implantation, there is one flawlessly alpha outcome which remediates incidental inequities in other outcomes. Thus, to a formless, desolate, water-covered, darkness-engulfed incident such as seen in Genesis 1:2, the remedy is light. To a raging masses, fuming with toxic desperateness for the dawning of a new era—such as the Nigerian situation, the remedy is light. To chaotic kingdoms having divided against self and on the brink of falling, the remedy is light. To troubled households plagued with unhealthy sibling rivalry, the remedy is light. To all manner of threatening evils, and all things whatsoever that are in contrast to the perfectness and values of the Holy God, the unfailing remedy is light. This light is what yields a profound knowledge that breeds a desperately sought-after, coveted, unmatched clarity.

ABSTRACT

There is an impostor in dreamland. Could be male, could be female. It’s uncertain. Dictionaries define impostors as persons who make deceitful pretenses. That definition readily gives the idea that the fiendish character in dreamland is in the habit of assuming false appearances with the intention to deceive. The thing, however, about this impostor is that it goes beyond giving false appearances to assuming diverse forms of various living creatures. On one occasion it is a man. On another, a woman. On another, an animal. Yet, on another occasion, it is something unexplainable. For that reason, it is referred to—as “it” in this piece, as its true identity is pending revelation, though not for long anymore. It plays the victim and makes everyone else appear as villains. It aims to stir dreamers into fighting those who’ve been made to appear as villains. There is no avenue it doesn’t employ to see to those fights. It seems like a powerful being, extremely manipulative. All it clamors for is power. No good intentions except to coerce all and sundry to bow at its feet. A damaged soul…on a hunt for pure beings to take possession of—and institute some sort of devilish government. It is more like a restless demon in desert regions seeking an abode in the human body. And it has its eyes on the dreamer as its next catch. It’s been crisscrossing generations, being something of a household deity that isn’t interested in expiring. The only avenue through which it extends its existence is dreams. Thriving on the ignorance and innocence of its victim, it sets a dreamer on a wild goose chase…a bloody game that sets the naïve dreamer on a merry-go-round state of affairs in the real world.

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INTRODUCTION

Suddenly, one goes to bed to rest the soul, only for the soul to get thrust into unfamiliar realms where the worst of situations play out…mostly against the dreamer. It continues for what seems like ages, and the dreamer gets lost as to what has become of him. It sets its preying eyes on the family’s next of kin who innocently goes about his/her business, knowing nothing whatsoever about the monster in the family who sabotages lives/destinies just to reign endlessly. It takes pride in referring to itself as “infinix,” a phrase that portrays it as being indispensable. The tactic by which it has managed to reign for this long is fraud, deception, and even murder. In the family, there have been mysterious deaths for so long that no one could explain them. Turns out it’s been the doing of this so-called “infinix.” But this time, something went wrong. The secret was exposed, probably by the “infinix” itself, its reason being that it sought to bring to light—the “darkness that has prevailed for so long.” But in essence, it is the darkness itself. Its strategy is to project its woes to those it seeks to get out of the way so it can reign. It manipulates its victims into settling for a path of life they have nothing to do with—by God’s original plan. The next of kin is supposed to be the king. But infinix doesn’t want another king to reign except it. So it keeps taking out true heirs. A psychopath!

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FOUL MOTIVE

Therefore, when the time comes for another king to assume the throne, this self-acclaimed “god” comes up with means by which to break the heir’s spirit and soul, then comes forth to proffer a supposed remedy to the damage by wangling the heir’s mind to make him/her believe that he/she is supposed to be a priest. What happens is that, when the heir falls into the deception and plays the priest’s role, the impostor gets reinstituted as king. It got to the dreamer’s turn, and unluckily for the impostor, God intervened. Plus, getting the dreamer to buy into the sham of playing a priest’s role has been an impossible task. More so, as it appears, no one wants the impostor on the throne anymore. But it seeks to impose itself on people by murdering those with knowledge of its systematic trickery which has secured it the throne for decades. Having the dreamer on its list as next in line has been a disaster. This is because the dreamer believes himself to possess gifts and talents capable of making him the world’s greatest. The impostor leveraged those gifts to pull off what it most likely considers its con of cons, and the dreamer has had to pay for being a tool through which such global deception was pulled. Wielding the microphone under the guise of discharging priestly duties—as a means of further paying for being that tool, is an absolute no for the dreamer. Ironically, not even these gifts and talents have afforded the dreamer a decent living, notwithstanding the biblical position that a man’s gifts make room for him and bring him before eminent persons. Many things are now coming to light, and this seeming puzzle will no doubt be one of them.

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THE PLAGUE (ANTIQUITY)

The dreamer had been in this position from childhood. It had been a plague that absolutely no one could remedy…not even the most renowned problem solvers he had come across. It got more tragic when the plague became common knowledge to all and sundry, yet no problem solver could still come to his aid. Not a single soul. Rather, relegation to the sidelines became a welcome resort. None seems to owe the dreamer an explanation. Yet, folks wouldn’t leave him alone to himself. All they want to do is “pass instructions” to the dreamer, “teach” the dreamer or get the dreamer to do things he isn’t in the least bit interested in doing. They literally all want to “run the dreamer’s life” and dictate the course of his destiny, making it seem like he’s indebted to them or something of that sort. But never for once has any fellow confronted the dreamer about any such affair. Instead, when the dreamer inquires about what’s going on, he’s given the impression that absolutely nothing is going on, and even if something was going on, it’s got nothing to do with him. All they want is for the dreamer to become an obedient dog or a robot. Neither wanting to be any, the seemingly lost dreamer tows the path of isolation, wanting nothing to do with the outside world of no helpers. So he does all he knows to do and has been doing thus far: running.

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THE SITUATION (SHEER WICKEDNESS)

The dreamer is at a point where not a single person is interested in his likes and dislikes, well-being, or anything that matters to him. Certain groups, persons, and even fraternities tend to have roles intended for the dreamer to play upon his being nabbed. But these roles are mediocre positions, last places, only fitting for the dumbest of the dumb. Why it is now intended to be plunged on the smartest of the smart is questionable. A sheer wickedness to be mated on the dreamer by insecure wannabe masters who can’t stand being outshone by one who isn’t at all interested in outshining anyone. This dreamer is a loner who only has his gifts and talents to show for his over three decades of existence. But having shown himself to the world and displayed his talents, he stirred all kinds of resentment, envy, and other manifestations of insecurity by many men who seem to delight in messing with the times and chances of other men. So he quits the merry-go-rounds and wild goose chases…then sets off on a marathon, a footrace with no finish line, a contest most suiting for an abstract contender who has spent years doing nothing but hunting the dreamer. It is said that “if the bird has learned to fly without perching, the hunter also learns to shoot without missing.” The dreamer has gotten past flying without perching, no thanks to his hunter who’s undergone training classes on shooting without missing. Now the dreamer isn’t just flying without perching. He is flying incognito, unseen anymore by his relentless stalker whose gun now aims for space, as he chases after the wind…a fruitless exploit that will become nothing but a fairytale to heirs who would’ve been victim to it. Whatever has a beginning, has an end. This impostor began its shenanigan at some point and was sure to end at some point. This is that point…a happy ending, as “better is the end of a matter than the beginning thereof.”

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COMPLEXITY

The dreamer is not one to play to another man’s gallery, not to mention being at another man’s beck and call. The thing about his stalker is that it is masked, otherwise, the dreamer would have banished it to desert regions where it belongs. The stalker knows this. The dreamer is everything it isn’t. What the stalking impostor seeks is to once again leverage the dreamer’s gifts and talents to bamboozle audiences like the trickster it is infamously known to be. But now it seems like something of a repentant devil, seeking to restitute by playing Apostle Paul on low-budget Ephesians and Corinthians and Romans. Quite unlike Apostle Paul, missionary journeys aren’t welcome in its world. It seeks to establish a sort of kingdom where it superintends over hypnotized congregants as a “god” …only that this time, the object of bamboozlement isn’t limited to colorful eloquence and illusionary stage performances. It’s also the Word of God that was in the beginning. There is doubt, however, as it pertains to the impostor’s motive in this seeming revolutionary path of his. There is the letter of the Word and there is the Spirit of the Word. Of these, the bible clearly states that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” On the off-chance that the impostor is given the benefit of a doubt and allowed to follow through with its self-imposed sacred ministry, what is the guarantee that what it feeds his hypnotized congregants won’t be the letter of the word?

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CONCLUSION

The dreamer, a star in a class of his own, isn’t interested in being an audience to any necromancer, let alone being instrumental to its necromancy. So he determines to do everything within his power to exempt himself from the resolute course of the imposter to have him initiated into its sacred-shrewd dealings. So he runs, runs, and would not stop running. Someday he will, when the impostor must have been nabbed and sentenced accordingly. Even Jesus fled Jerusalem to keep from being murdered by Herod, only to return upon Herod’s death. Many others did the same…David for instance—when he fled from Saul. It was upon Saul’s death that he returned to Israel to assume the throne…just as had been declared by the prophet Samuel. The destiny of the impostor is certain: a wanderer whose only duty is to chase and hunt down the blessed dreamer. But God is watching. He that sits in the heavens shall laugh, seemingly unconcerned about the idiotic state of affairs. Howbeit, one day He’ll roar, and the impostor shall be put in its place once and for all. As for the dreamer, well, such a blessed soul he is. A success!

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©Jezuzboi, 2022.

CONCLUSION

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God." So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "Whatever could this mean?"

Others mocking said, "They are full of new wine." But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.

And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.' "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.' "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up; of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. "For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.

Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

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And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

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@Jezuzboi, 2021.

THE VERDICT

Wow! So after all this time, here I am, about to hear the verdict of my adventure read to me. No doubts—it’s been a journey well-traveled, an adventure well-explored, A ROAD WELL CONQUERED. Oops! I better be careful there before I again get too forward to see forever from yesterday. Nonetheless, if I have nothing else to my credit, I’ll at least have all these people to show for my effort. Look at them! I thought I was being greedy in my accumulation of those scriptural blessings upon which my life and destiny are now being founded. But these people…these people…they can’t seem to get enough. They’re going for every gift of the Spirit, an understanding of kingdom mysteries, grace to adhere to kingdom principles, greatness! So beautiful. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good and His mercies endure forever!”

“INDEED, HIS MERCIES ENDURE FOREVER…THE MERCY THAT HAS REWRITTEN YOUR LIFE, KEPT YOU FROM BEING CONSUMED, REDEEMED YOU FROM LAWFUL CAPTIVITY, PREPARED A TABLE BEFORE YOU IN THE PRESENCE OF YORU ENEMIES, AND HAS NOW SET BEFORE YOU AN OPEN DOOR WHICH NO MAN CAN SHUT.

“Really?”

“YOU HAVE BEEN ENTRUSTED WITH THESE ONES WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN REDEEMED FROM THE PIT ALONGSIDE YOURS. LIKE MOSES, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO LEAD THEM TO CANAAN…THAT PROMISED LAND YOU HAD SET OUT TO JOURNEY TO: HEAVEN.”

“Wow!”

“BUT, DO NOT IMAGINE THAT HEAVEN IS YOUR NEXT PORT OF CALL. HEAVEN IS YOUR LAST IF YOU DO NOT STUMBLE ALONG THE WAY AND FALL. THE WILL OF THE LORD MUST BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN, AND YOU HAVE WON A SPOT AMONGST THOSE WHO SERVE AS AGENCIES BY WHICH THAT WILL MUST BE DONE. AFTER THAT, YOU’RE WELCOME TO HEAVEN…YOU AND THE SONS THAT HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO YOU…FOR SIGNS AND WONDERS.”

“Sons? Me?”

“DO NOT LET ANYONE LOOK DOWN ON YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE YOUNG, BUT BE AN EXAMPLE FOR THE BELIEVERS IN YOUR SPEECH, YOUR CONDUCT, YOUR LOVE, FAITH, AND PURITY.”

“I… I… I don’t know what more to say.”

“IF YOU’VE NOTICED, THERE’S STILL ENOUGH TO GO AROUND ON THE TABLE. THOUGH YOU AND THESE PEOPLE HAVE DONE WELL IN AMASSING FOR YOURSELVES AS MANY OF ABRAHAM’S BLESSINGS AS YOU CAN, YOU HAVE NOT COME CLOSE TO SCRATCHING THE SURFACE. IT’S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF HUMANITY, BOTH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, TO SCRATCH THE SURFACE OF THESE BLESSINGS. AND THESE BLESSINGS UP FOR GRABS.”

“What am I supposed to do?

“WHEN YOU EXIT THIS REALM AND ADVANCE THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR THAT HAS BEEN SET BEFORE YOU, IT IS EXPECTED OF YOU TO DISPENSE THEM TO AS MANY AS YOU CAN…EVEN TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.”

“How am I supposed to do that? Get people to embark on another adventure here with me?”

“THIS IS NOT AN ADVENTURE YOU EMBARK ON—TWICE. YOU’VE MADE IT TO THE BUFFET. AND, GIVEN THE DESTINY YOU HAVE CHOSEN, IT BEHOLDS ON YOU TO REPRODUCE YOURSELF. YOU ARE NOW A WALKING BUFFET. THOSE AROUND YOU DO NOT NEED TO COME HERE LIKE YOU HAVE—TO DECIDE THEIR FATE AND DESTINY. IT IS YOUR PLACE TO DISPENSE IT TO THEM IN WORD, IN DEED, AND OTHERWISE. YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN ALL THE SKILLS.”

“Seems like there’s going to be a lot of work to do.”

“YOU ASKED FOR IT, REMEMBER? YOU ASKED FOR IT WHEN YOU CONCEIVED THAT REVOLUTIONARY IDEA THAT STIRRED UP UPROAR 2023, WHEN YOU ENVISIONED A GLORY INVASION IN 9-MINUTES, AND WHEN YOU BECKONED ON THE UNIVERSE, EXTENDING AN INVITE THAT SAYS: ‘LET’S GO TO HEAVEN.’ NOW YOU HAVE IT. AND YOU’VE GATHERED YOUR FIRST SET OF PILGRIMS HERE. THE REST OF THEM AWAIT YOU IN THE EARTH REALM. BE SURE OF THIS, THAT YOU ARE LIKELY TO MEET THE KIND OF CHALLENGE CAPTURED IN LUKE 14:16-23 WHICH SAYS:

“A CERTAIN MAN GAVE A GREAT SUPPER AND INVITED MANY, AND SENT HIS SERVANT AT SUPPER TIME TO SAY TO THOSE WHO WERE INVITED, 'COME, FOR ALL THINGS ARE NOW READY.' BUT THEY ALL WITH ONE ACCORD BEGAN TO MAKE EXCUSES. THE FIRST SAID TO HIM, 'I HAVE BOUGHT A PIECE OF GROUND, AND I MUST GO AND SEE IT. I ASK YOU TO HAVE ME EXCUSED.' AND ANOTHER SAID, 'I HAVE BOUGHT FIVE YOKE OF OXEN, AND I AM GOING TO TEST THEM. I ASK YOU TO HAVE ME EXCUSED.' STILL, ANOTHER SAID, 'I HAVE MARRIED A WIFE, AND THEREFORE I CANNOT COME.' SO THAT SERVANT CAME AND REPORTED THESE THINGS TO HIS MASTER. THEN THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE, BEING ANGRY, SAID TO HIS SERVANT, 'GO OUT QUICKLY INTO THE STREETS AND LANES OF THE CITY, AND BRING IN HERE THE POOR AND THE MAIMED AND THE LAME AND THE BLIND.' AND THE SERVANT SAID, 'MASTER, IT IS DONE AS YOU COMMANDED, AND STILL THERE IS ROOM.' THEN THE MASTER SAID TO THE SERVANT, 'GO OUT INTO THE HIGHWAYS AND HEDGES, AND COMPEL THEM TO COME IN, THAT MY HOUSE MAY BE FILLED.”

“Does that mean I’m going to be a priest?”

“YOU ARE A CHOSEN GENERATION, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, HIS SPECIAL PEOPLE, THAT YOU MAY PROCLAIM THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT. YOU HAVE BEEN MADE A KING AND A PRIEST TO YOUR GOD AND FATHER. THE VERDICT OF YOUR ADVENTURE IS PREDICATED UPON THE LONGINGS OF YOUR HEART THAT DREW YOU HERE, THE COMMENDABLENESS OF YOUR JOURNEY, AND THE GENUINENESS OF YOUR MOTIVES IN THE CHOOSING OF YOUR FATE AND DESTINY. HAVING MIXED ALL THESE FACTORS AND PASSED THEM THROUGH FIRE AS GOLD, HERE COMES THE CULMINATION THEREOF:”

“Okay? I’m nervous. I’m listening. I’m nervously listening.”

“AS YOU GO ABOUT DOING ALL YOU ARE TO DO WHEN YOU EXIT THIS REALM—AS I HAVE ALREADY MENTIONED TO YOU—IT SHALL BE THAT THE SUMMATION OF YOUR LIFE AND DESTINY SHALL BE JUST AS YOU HAVE ALWAYS ENVISIONED: GLORY…AN INVASION OF GLORY…A GLORY INVASION.”

“Glory invasion in 9-minutes! I knew it! I knew it! They doubted me! But I was sure of it!”

“AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR PROVERBS 31 PREGNANT FIRST LADY RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE TO GIVE YOU THE SUPPORT YOU’LL NEED TO DISCHARGE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES. YOU HAVE EARNED YOURSELF A VOICE…A VOICE IN YOUR GENERATION.”

“Voice in my generation! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“GOD BE WITH YOU, YOUNG SHEPHERD, AND SEE YOU THROUGH IT ALL UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN…IN HEAVEN—BY HIS GRACE. NOW, PREPARE TO GO HOME, YOU AND THESE PEOPLE, LIKE YOU DESPERATELY CRAVED.”

“Wait! Wait! You haven’t told me your name. Please, tell me who you are. I need to know who guided me through the roughest adventure of my life. Who are you?”

“DO YOU REMEMBER THE STORY OF JEHOAHAZ IN 2ND KINGS 13:1; THE SON OF JEHU WHO BECAME KING OVER ISRAEL IN SAMARIA?”

“Yes. He reigned seventeen years and he did evil in the sight of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not depart from them.”

“EXACTLY. THEN THE ANGER OF THE LORD WAS AROUSED AGAINST ISRAEL, AND HE DELIVERED THEM INTO THE HAND OF HAZAEL KING OF SYRIA, AND INTO THE HAND OF BEN-HADAD THE SON OF HAZAEL, ALL THEIR DAYS.”

“But Jehoahaz pleaded with the Lord, and the Lord listened to him; for He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.”

“AND WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? DO YOU REMEMBER?”

“The Lord gave Israel a deliverer so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.”

“THE LORD GAVE ISRAEL A DELIVERER. A DELIVERER. DELIVERER.”

“Are you… are you… a deliverer? The deliverer? That very deliverer?”

“I HAVE BEEN YOUR DELIVERER…YOU AND THESE ONES WHO THROUGH YOU HAVE SEEN LIGHT AGAIN. NOW IT’S TIME FOR YOU ALL TO GO BACK AND DWELL IN YOUR TENTS AGAIN.”

“But…but…this whole process was made easy with you to guide me through. Would it be too much to ask that you never leave? That you stay on with me to guide me all the more?”

“WHAT DID THE SON OF MAN SAY TO HIS DISCIPLES SHORTLY BEFORE EXITING THE EARTH REALM? HE SAID SOMETHING ABOUT A COMFORTER. WHAT WAS IT AGAIN?”

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever. When He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

“THERE YOU GO! YOU HAVE ALL YOU NEED. MORE THAN ENOUGH! YOU DON’T NEED ME OVER THERE. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH WILL BE THERE WITH YOU, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. GOODBYE NOW, YOUNG SHEPHERD. GO AND MANIFEST IN AN OVERFLOWING DIMENSION. BE A VOICE INDEED TO YOUR GENERATION.”

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VOICE IN MY GENERATION

When I stand before the mirror,
I’m more than the image I see.
I may not look like a hero,
But I’m a treasure in an earthen vessel.

A Hero lives in me,
He makes me be like Him.
I am His, He is mine,
And we are one.

I am beautiful.
I am saved.
I am favored.
My destiny’s secure.

I am a miracle,
Going to somewhere to happen.
I am a sign,
I am a wonder.

I am a;
Voice in my generation.

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EARTH

“NOW, THEREFORE, YOU ARE NO LONGER STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS, BUT FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS AND MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD, HAVING BEEN BUILT ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE, IN WHOM THE WHOLE BUILDING, BEING FITTED TOGETHER, GROWS INTO A HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD, IN WHOM YOU ALSO ARE BEING BUILT TOGETHER FOR A DWELLING PLACE OF GOD IN THE SPIRIT.”

“Deliverer? Is that you? Did you cross over with us? You crossed over with us! You said you wouldn’t, but you did!”

“NO LONGER DO I CALL YOU SERVANTS, FOR A SERVANT DOES NOT KNOW WHAT HIS MASTER IS DOING; BUT I HAVE CALLED YOU FRIENDS, FOR ALL THINGS THAT I HEARD FROM MY FATHER I HAVE MADE KNOWN TO YOU.”

“You sound different. Is that you, deliverer?”

“LISTEN, IF YOU ABIDE IN ME, AND MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, YOU WILL ASK WHAT YOU DESIRE, AND IT SHALL BE DONE FOR YOU.”

“Certainly, this is not you. This is not your voice. Who is this, please?”

“I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.”

“Jesus! Savior! Jesus my Savior!”

“IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU. AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN AND RECEIVE YOU TO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO. GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL THE NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU; AND LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE. MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU; NOT AS THE WORLD GIVES DO I GIVE TO YOU. LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED, NEITHER LET IT BE AFRAID. THESE THINGS I HAVE SPOKEN TO YOU, THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. IN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION; BUT BE OF GOOD CHEER, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”

“Thank You, Jesus!”

“BEHOLD, I SEND THE PROMISE OF MY FATHER UPON YOU. YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU, AND YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME IN ALL COUNTRIES, AND IN ALL CONTINENTS, AND TO THE END OF THE EARTH. NOW, RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT!”

“Shalabaragobegedosh!”

“IT IS FINISHED. IT IS DONE.”

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,
Let me walk upon the waters,
Wherever You would call me.

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,
And my faith will be made stronger,
In the presence of my Savior.”

THE BUFFET

“Brightness! Brilliance! Light rays! Serenity! Glitters! Sparkles! Clouds! Mists! Shooting stars and lightning flashes! Winds! Tongues of fire! Excellency of glory and splendor! Indescribable majesty! Rivers of flaming fire. Appearances of the sun! This place, whiter than much snow. What is this place? The banquet? All this allurement just for a dining place? Look! Suspended little glittery diamonds. Aren’t those Cherubim? Fiery cherubim! This is a place like no other. Not even Solomon’s palace compares to this in majesty. If this is where I get stuck in this adventure, I might as well be a happy captive. If this isn’t heaven, it’s heaven’s gate, indeed!”

“UNFORTUNATELY, THERE’S NO GETTING STUCK ANY FURTHER. YOU HAVE MADE IT TO THE BUFFET. THERE’S ONLY GOING FORWARD FROM HERE. WHETHER YOU PROCEED FROM HERE WITH A TRUCKLOAD OF BLESSINGS OR A HANDFUL OF GIFTS, IT’S DEPENDENT ON YOU. THIS IS WHERE YOU DECIDE YOUR DESTINY. THIS IS WHERE YOU CHOOSE YOUR FATE. THIS IS WHERE YOU CORRECT YOUR MISTAKES AND DETERMINE THE COURSE OF YOUR FUTURE. YOUR WHOLE LIFE NOW LIES BEFORE YOU. GRAB THE RUDDER, THEREFORE, AND STEER IT IN WHATEVER DIRECTION YOU SO PLEASE. NO HOLDS BARRED.”

“I don’t seem to follow. Isn’t this supposed to be a buffet where I get to serve myself any meal of my choice? But you’re talking about blessings and gifts and destiny and all. I don’t get it.”

“THIS IS A BUFFET INDEED…ONLY THAT WHAT IS SERVED HERE AREN’T MEALS…LIKE YOU EXPECTED.”

“What?”

“EXACTLY. HAVE YOU WONDERED YOU HAVEN’T BEEN HUNGRY ALL THIS TIME? AGAIN, HAVE YOU WONDERED WHY YOU HAVE ONLY BEEN THIRSTY?”

“What about that?”

“BECAUSE THE BUFFET IS ONLY MEANT TO QUENCH THIRST, NOT HUNGER.”

“So, all I do here is drink, drink, and drink?”

“YES.”

“Oh! I see. So much for a long-sought buffet. Do we get to drink anything else besides water?”

“NO.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake! Tell me it’s not true! All that gloomy excursion just to get rewarded with volumes of water at heaven’s gate?”

“YES. JUST NOT THE WATER YOU’RE THINKING.”

“What other water could there be besides H2o?”

“LIVING WATER. THE ONE YOU DRINK AND NEVER GET THIRSTY AGAIN.”

“Living water? Isn’t that… Isn’t that… Chri…”

“NOW LISTEN, AS I PUT YOU THROUGH THE MODUS OPERANDI OF THIS FINAL STAGE OF YOUR ADVENTURE. DISPERSED ALL OVER THIS ABODE ARE SCRIPTURE UPON SCRIPTURE UPON SCRIPTURE. IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING IN IT WERE CREATED WITH WORDS…GOD’S WORD. AND HE CREATED MAN AND GAVE HIM THE LEVERAGE TO DO THE SAME: TO CREATE THE WORLD AROUND THEM WITH WORDS…THE WORD OF GOD. YOU ARE HERE TODAY BECAUSE OF THE WORDS YOU UTTERED. SADLY, NOT ALL WERE SCRIPTURE-BASED. BUT THERE WAS A RICH CAPTURING OF GOD’S WORD IN YOUR UTTERANCE, MIXED WITH MANY OTHER WORDS THAT ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN BORNE OUT OF QUESTIONABLE MOTIVES. SO YOU HAD TO BE DRAWN DOWN HERE TO HAVE YOUR HEART TESTED…TO ASCERTAIN THE AUTHENTICITY OF YOUR MOTIVES BECAUSE TALK IS CHEAP.

“YOU CAN AFFORD TO BAMBOOZLE THE WORLD WITH DECEITFUL WORDS, THUS WINNING APPROVAL AND RISING TO A SPHERE OF INFLUENCE WHERE THE BAMBOOZLEMENT CONTINUES—TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE UNSUSPECTING. NOW YOU HAVE PROVEN BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT THAT YOUR MOUTH INDEED MADE THOSE DECLARATIONS OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF YOUR HEART. THE PRIZE FOR UNDERGOING THIS TEST IS THE ABSOLUTE LIBERTY TO WRITE YOUR DESTINY WITH YOUR OWN HANDS. OF COURSE, THERE CAN BE NO FALSEHOOD IN THIS REALM. HENCE, WHATEVER FATE YOU DECIDE FOR YOURSELF IS BORNE OUT OF THE DEEPEST LONGING OF YOUR HEART, AS WHATEVER ISN’T FROM THE HEART CANNOT BE DESIGNATED.

“LOOK! YOUR PEOPLE. THEY HAVE ALREADY STARTED DECIDING THEIR DESTINIES. AS I WAS EXPLAINING TO YOU, THEY WERE GAINING AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THEM.”

“I can see what they’re picking. Salvation-based scriptures. They all want to be saved!”

“I WOULDN’T EXPECT LESS FROM THEM. IT IS SAID THAT EVERYONE IN HELL IS A BELIEVER. BEING STUCK IN GLOOM FOR SO LONG WITH NO HOPE OF REDEMPTION—WILL AWAKEN YOUR SENSES TO THE ULTIMATE NEED FOR SALVATION. IF THOSE IN HELL GOT THIS SAME OFFER, WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WILL GO FOR—AS A MATTER OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE?”

“Salvation indeed!”

“CORRECT ANSWER. RUN ALONG, NOW. JOIN THEM. THE CLOCK IS TICKING. MAKING IT TO THE BUFFET DOESN’T STOP THE CLOCK FROM TICKING. IF YOU WAIT AROUND SO LONG WITHOUT DOING THE NEEDFUL, YOU WILL GET PLUNGED BACK TO YOUR ORIGINAL ABODE…TO LIVE A LIFE VOID OF EVERYTHING YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SECURE FOR YOURSELF, BUT WOULDN’T. HERE IS THE WATER YOU’VE BEEN SO THIRSTY FOR. THE LIVING WATER. GENESIS TO REVELATION. DRINK AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. BUILD YOUR LIFE AND DESTINY WITH SCRIPTURE UPON SCRIPTURE UNTIL THE PERSON YOU’VE ALWAYS ENVISIONED YOURSELF TO BE IS FORMED. GOD’S SPEED!”

“Wow! I can’t believe that this isn’t a dream. Look at all these people. They’re talking now. Smiling lovingly at each other. Helping each other in the building of their lives and destinies. So adorable. They all want to be saved. Look at the women. They all want to be the Proverbs 31 wives…and the men all want to be the husbands of the Proverbs 31 wives. They’re all going for a lifetime of dedication to the purposes of God. They all want to love God with all their hearts. To love each other as they love themselves. To belong to the household of faith. Look! They’re all opting for intimacy with the Holy Spirit…heaven being their primary goal.

“It’s high time I joined the band and do the needful before I run out of time. I didn’t come this far to come this far. Therefore, let it begin! Where do I start? Where do I… Yes! Wisdom is the principal thing. In all thy getting, get understanding. I’ll start from there. Let it be unto me like it was to King Solomon in 1st Kings 3:12-14 as a response to his request for wisdom, for it was said to him: ‘Behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. If you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, I will lengthen your days.’”

“So that I do not end up like King Solomon who became spiritually complacent after God had fulfilled all His promise to him—thereby falling from grace, I complement the missing link that drove king Solomon into error with 1st Samuel 2:35 where a similar situation was remedied thus: ‘then I will raise for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and My mind. I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed forever.’ In walking with God forever, I crave Enoch’s dimension of intimacy with God, thus described in Genesis 5:24: ‘and Enoch walked in habitual fellowship with God; and he was not, for God took him home with Him.’ I long to further strengthen this intimacy with the fire of Elijah’s secret place, applauded thus by the Apostle James: ‘Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.’ Oh God, this is amazing! I’m loving it!”

“I know for certain that it is God’s will to bless me all-round. But there are many whose hearts shifted from God to the blessings after being blessed. For that to not be my testimony under any circumstance, I reach for 3rd John 1:2 where God wishes above all things that I prosper and be in health, even as my soul prospers. In light of that, I beseech You Lord to only prosper me financially and otherwise in proportion to the prosperity of my soul, that I may not end up gaining the whole world and losing my dear soul. Even as I lay up for myself treasures in heaven this day—where neither moth nor rust destroys; and where thieves do not break in and steal, let it be that where my treasure is, my heart will be also. (Matthew 6:20-21).

“As much as I admire the flawlessness of Jesus while He was on earth; and would love to be no different, the truth remains that temptations will come…for even the revered apostle Paul remarks thus in Romans 7:19: ‘for the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.’ Therefore, let it be onto me according to Romans 14:4—that You, whose servant I am…it is to You that I stand or fall. And indeed I will be made to stand, for You, my God, are able to make me stand. Calling to mind all my afflictions from childhood, I reach for the complete deliverance in Mark 9:25 where a demon was cast out of a young man who had been possessed by the demon from Childhood. Even when it’s a spiritual norm for demons to again seek to possess a body they had been cast out of (if it remains empty), Jesus had defied the odds for this boy, for He thus declared to the demon: ‘thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter no more into him.’ Emphasis on ‘enter no more into him.’ Oh Lord!

“Again calling to mind my rank as a seed of the woman—destined to bruise the head of the serpent, I reach for Luke 10:19 and receive power to tread on serpents, scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: that nothing should by any means hurt me. I set my eyes on Romans 8:28-31 and many questions flood my mind all at once. Hasn’t God caused all things to work together for my good because I love Him and I’m called according to His purpose? Am I not he whom He foreknew? Am I not he whom He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son? that I might be the firstborn among many brethren? Moreover, him whom He predestined, didn’t He also call? He whom He called, didn’t He also justify? And he whom He justified, didn’t He also glorify? What then shall I say to these things? If God is for me, who can be against me?

“As much as I would love to skip God’s initial dialogue with the prophet Jeremiah, a strong pull makes it impossible to do so…for God had said to him: ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you. See, I have this day set you over the nations and the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant: (Jeremiah chapter 1 verses 5, 8, and 10). Jeez! Isn’t this getting too much? I better wrap up before I end up biting more than I can chew. Having come this far, I might as well covet the faith of certain uncommon men, thus spoken of in Hebrews 11:32‭-‬34:‬‬‬‬

“For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith [that is, with an enduring trust in God and His promises] subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions, extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became mighty and unbeatable in battle, putting enemy forces to flight.”

“There is none like You, Lord. No one else can touch my heart as You do. I have searched through all eternity…and found: there is none like You. Therefore, as long as I live, I, in line with 1st Corinthians 12:13, choose the way of the Lord, to remain baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit…as the scripture says: ‘for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.’ And like the apostle Paul in Philippians 3:8, ‘I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.’ Amen! Amen! And Amen!

“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain! So God granted him what he requested:’ (1st Chronicles 4:10). This moment, it is not Jabez—but I, who fills this prayer request in this blank cheque of mine, this buffet…adding that as David went from being a bush boy to being a palace big boy, even so—may I go from being the bush boy that I am today—to becoming a big boy…not the usual big boy, but a real big boy, such as I’d made plain on tablets in an essay I titled: THE REAL BIG BOYS (RICHES & GLORY). These blessings are just too much—I’m tempted to go on and on.

“Just as Laban was blessed on account of Jacob, may Laban’s words be the testimony of whoever I’m privileged to serve or partner with—in any capacity, as seen in Genesis 30:27: ‘…I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake.’ Likewise, may the testament of Potiphar in Genesis 39:5 be the case with such persons: ‘…the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.’ Just like Joseph, I proceed from prison to palace on account of gifts, for a man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men: (Proverbs 18:16). In all these, I covet the excellent Spirit in Daniel 6:3: ‘then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to set him over the whole realm.’ And this is where I draw the curtain!”

“BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL!”

“Oh, I forgot to grab two very important blessings. Can I go again?”

“YOU STILL HAVE TIME. WHY NOT?”

“The 1st Corinthians 13 love as the vehicle by which I navigate the course of my life, and the Proverbs 31 woman for a wife. Selah.”

“OH MY! YOU SURE HAVE EYES FOR GREAT THINGS.”

“Apostle Paul says to ‘covet the best gifts.’ Besides, if I don’t match the breaks, I’ll end up reaching for all scriptures. All the promises are great!”

“IMPRESSIVE! HAVING COME THIS FAR AND DONE THIS GOOD, THE TIME HAS COME FOR YOUR VERDICT TO BE READ TO YOU…BY YOUR PERFORMANCE. BRACE UP, AND BE OF GOOD CHEER.”

“RUN ALONG NOW. YOU HAVE TO LOCATE THE BANQUET SOON ENOUGH. THE CLOCK IS THICKING. YOU NOW HAVE ALL THESE PEOPLE IN YOUR CARE. WHATEVER BECOMES OF YOU—BECOMES OF THEM. YOU’VE COME SO FAR AND DONE SO WELL. DON’T LOSE IT ALL WITH A SINGLE WRONG MOVE. TRY NOT TO BE ENAMOURED WITH YOUR SUCCESS THUS FAR. YOU’RE NOT THERE YET. IF YOU’VE NOTICED, YOUR UPGRADE OF CLOTHING DOESN’T INCLUDE ALL YOU LISTED. YOU NOW HAVE A PAIR OF TROUSERS AND SHOES AND A SPARKLING WHITE SHIRT—JUST AS YOU LOVE IT. BUT NO WRISTWATCH YET. NO PERFUME…AND THE OTHER ELEMENTS THAT MAKES YOUR DRESSING COMPLETE. THE SAME IS THE CASE WITH EVERYONE ELSE. YOU MUST KEEP ADVANCING TO KEEP UPGRADING. IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOU. GO FIND THAT BUFFET. I’LL BE WAITING FOR YOU SOMEWHERE AHEAD.”

“Wait, please! Could you please give me a hint on how to go about finding the buffet? I don’t see a way out of here apart from the passageway through which I came in. And out there is a mass of toxic ill-wishers with a strong desire to sabotage my course. I can’t afford to get back into their view. It’s been so soothing to have eluded their prying eyes.”

“WHO TOLD YOU SO?”

“I know so. I mean, I haven’t seen them since I got in here.”

“AND YOU’RE SURE THEIR PRYING EYES GOT OFF YOU THE MOMENT YOU GOT IN HERE?”

“Yes! Look there! There’s nothi… What? Is that them? They’re still watching? Even beyond these walls?”

“IF I WERE YOU, I’D FOCUS MORE ON THAT BUFFET. IT HOLDS MORE PROMISES FOR YOU AND ALL THESE PEOPLE THAN THOSE PRYING EYES YOU SEEM TO CARE SO MUCH ABOUT.”

“They’re not all toxic. A group of them directed me to this place. Otherwise, I most likely wouldn’t have made it here.”

“THEN YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON THAT GROUP. WHO KNOWS. THEY COULD GIVE YOU HEADS-UP ON YOUR NEXT LINE OF ACTION.”

“That’s true. I see them now. They’re pointing upwards. What’s upward? The sky. They’re pointing to the sky. What about the sky? Am I supposed to fly up there? With what?”

“I’LL BE WAITING FOR YOU SOMEWHERE AHEAD. GOD’S SPEED.”

“Oh, how I wish someone would just tell me clearly what to do. I know how it gets when figuring out what next to do. And now I’ve got all these people depending on the shots I call. I can’t afford to goof! God help me. Those good Samaritans. They keep pointing to the sky. What’s up there? The birds? How is a bird supposed to help? Or, is it about to rain? The rain would get us soaked and would ruin our new clothing. I don’t think so. Look! They’re joining their hands together now, as though praying. Praying? Praying. They point upwards and then join their hands together as though praying. Oh, oh, oh, I get it! I get it now! It’s God. It’s God they’re drawing my attention to. They want me to pray to God. Excellent! Excellent! Prayer!

“Erm, erm, I’ve got a problem here. What am I supposed to pray about? Ask God to show me where the buffet is? Since I got here, I’ve been praying to be taken out of here. Turns out I can’t be taken out of here. I have to find my way out, and finding the buffet is one of the means of finding my way out. What then am I to pray about? I can’t think of anything. But the good Samaritans, they’re insisting I pray. Oh, look! Now they’re pointing to their heads. What does that mean? Pointing to their heads? What’s it with the head? Knowledge? Sense? Wisdom? Yes! Yes! Wisdom! Look! They’re giving me thumbs up. It’s wisdom! I need to pray for wisdom! Excellent! Oh no! You’ve got to be kidding me! Isn’t that what the wise King Solomon filled in his blank cheque after he sacrificed a thousand animals and got offered the cheque?

“Wait. After he sacrificed a thousand animals, right? He offered a sacrifice. A thousand animals. In return, he got a blank cheque from God, and he filled wisdom in that cheque. Pleased with his choice, God added everything else he didn’t ask for. Yes! I must emulate Solomon. I recall that during uproar 2023—after conceding the quest—I’d resolved that I’d go back learning everything learnable, discovering everything discoverable, searching everything searchable, especially scriptures, having observed that the wisest man to have walked the earth, this same king Solomon, had been in my position, burdened with a glorious purpose of leading a great people—the people of God—the Israelites; and wasn’t overcome.

“Almost immediately after his father passed away and he took over the throne of Israel and had a thousand animals killed and offered as a sacrifice to God. That very night, God appeared to him and asked what he would like Him to do for him. And Solomon asked for wisdom. I’m doing the same thing right away! It’s has always been in my heart to do this…to replicate the same event and make the same request. Now, the time has come for me to do so. But…but… there’s a problem. Where do I get a thousand animals to offer as a sacrifice? Even if there are a thousand animals to offer, is God still in the business of animal sacrifice. Oh no!

“In this time and age, what God desires is that every man comes to the knowledge of Him. Isn’t that the motivation behind the great commission? That the gospel of the kingdom be preached to the farthest ends of the earth? And that souls be harvested in preparation for the second coming of Christ? That’s it! That’s it! Souls! Souls! What God desires is souls…the souls of men. Yes! Souls! The best sacrifice to offer to God in these times is the souls of men. Oh dear, how fortunate I am! Here are men with me, men I never thought I’d encounter, not in a place like this. But now we’re here together, supposedly stuck, but not for long anymore.

“I must get these men to offer their lives to God…since they are no animals without a will of their own. Besides, the sacrifice that God finds acceptable is that which comes from a willing heart. I must persuade these men to turn their lives over to God right away…and hopefully, God will appear and ask what I want, then I’ll ask for wisdom. And with that wisdom, we will navigate our way out of here! Perfect! Perfect plan! Now, over these men…and women.

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Would you be kind enough to give me your attention for a moment? I’ve got a proposition for you that will get us out of this God-forsaken place in no time. I have a reason to believe we’re very close to exiting this place. But there’s something we need to acquire to advance towards that exit, and it will take all of us to acquire that thing. I do not suppose that any of us wants to spend one more moment here after all this time of being stuck here helplessly. Therefore, if we all subscribe to what I’m about to propose, our long-denied longing to leave this place will be fulfilled soon enough. Are you with me? Do you understand? Am I communicating at all? Hello? Hello everyone? Ladies and gentlemen?

“Oh, Lord! Is this what it appears to be? They’re not talking. They’re not making any suggestions whatsoever. They’re not consenting either. They’re just indifferent…like robots, as though it all depends on me to do what I think is best. Is that it? Is this what this place does to people? So, it’s literally within my jurisdiction to make the call that would decide the fate and destinies of these people? Oh Lord! That’s what it is. That’s exactly what it is. What do I do now? I intend to persuade them to turn their lives over to God, which would serve as a sacrifice like that of Solomon. Would they all consent to that? I do not suppose that any of these people would willingly stay back here, would they? Oh no! Capital no! If it depends on me to make the call for these people, I’ll just have to do it. I’ll surrender all our lives to God as a sacrifice of souls just so we can get out of here. I believe that once we’re out of here, the conditions of these people will change.

“Then, if any of them would have rather remained in here, they can find their way back here like they did the first time. For now, I have to do what I have to do. Like Mr. Voice would say: tick says the clock. What you have to do, do quick. Yes, right! I’m doing it now. I am. How do I do it? Do we hold hands? Oh no, these guys ain’t moving. I just have to make the offer. To say the prayer. To offer up these precious souls to God who made every last one of them. I earnestly long in my heart that God finds these souls pleasing, and grants me the desired wisdom which would get us out of here. Alright. The offer…here it comes, just like Solomon’s:

“Oh Lord God, you have put me in a position where it is required of me to make a key and life-sustaining decision for these many people who You undoubtedly hold dear, even though I’ve been the last to show up on the scene thus far. For I recall that the Apostle Paul, narrating how he had been the last of the Apostles to see Jesus—as one born out of due time, had referred to himself as the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church of God. But then he noted that by the grace of God he had become who he was because Your grace toward him was not in vain, being that he labored more abundantly than the other apostles. However, he conceded that it was not his making, but the grace of God which was at work in him. The case with me here is no different from that of Paul the apostle.

“Therefore, here I am among a people I have reason to believe You’ve chosen to be Yours, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted. As I surrender the lives of these—and my own life to You, I ask that—just as You did for king Solomon whom You loved, do even so to me…and these people—whom you undoubtedly love. Give me the wisdom I need to bring us out of this place to Canaan, for this place that we are, is far from being a land that flows with milk and honey. It has become obvious that from this point on, advancement cannot be possible without wisdom from above. Therefore, let it please you oh Lord, to receive this living sacrifice and reward us with the wisdom that shall see to our salvation, our liberation, our freedom, our possession of our inheritance in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

“WELL DONE.”

“Mr. Voice! Is that you? What’s happening? Everywhere has turned snow-white like it is said to have been on the mount of transfiguration. Is this heaven? Have we made it there? This is heaven! This is heaven! Heaven at last! Mr. Voice, heaven at last!

“KEEP CALM, YOUNG SHEPHERD. THIS IS NOT HEAVEN.”

“Then where is this? It looks like heaven! It fits the description of heaven! It even…”

“I UNDERSTAND YOUR EXHILARATION. BUT THIS IS NOT HEAVEN. YOU WILL GET TO HEAVEN SOMEDAY IF YOU CONTINUE TO HOLD FAST TO THE PROFESSION OF YOUR FAITH WITHOUT WAVERING.”

“Then where is this? Paradise?”

“YOU CAN CALL IT PARADISE IF YOU SO CHOSE? BUT IT IS MY PLEASURE TO ANNOUNCE TO YOU THAT WHAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING IS YOUR TRANSITION INTO YOUR FINAL STAGE IN THIS ADVENTURE: THE LONG SOUGHT BANQUET.”

“The banquet? Really? I’ve finally gotten to the buffet?”

“YES. YOU HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN TO THE BUFFET. BUT THAT’S NOT THE BEST PART. THE BEST PART IS THAT YOU GOT THE OTHERS—WHO HAD BEEN STUCK HERE FOR AGES—UNSTUCK. AND NOW THEY HAVE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY TO CHOOSE THEIR FATE AND DESTINIES AFRESH! KUDOS TO THE DEEPEST LONGINGS OF YOUR HEART. CONSIDERING THE INFAMOUS REPUTATION THAT PRECEDED YOU—WHICH EARNED—YOU THIS ADVENTURE, I HADN’T EXPECTED THIS…THOUGH I WASN’T IGNORANT OF YOUR POTENTIALITIES. WELL DONE ONCE AGAIN.”

“Ooooh…thank you so much! Thank you! When is the blinding light going to fade so we can start eating already? I must confess, I still don’t feel hungry. But considering that I’ve made it this far, I’m going to force the various delicacies down my throat. I’m beyond thirsty though. I hope they’re gallons upon gallons of water here? Because I’m likely to drown it all.”

“HAHAHA. FUNNY SPECIES. ALRIGHT THEN. IT’S TIME. THE LIGHTS FADE IN A MOMENT AND YOU’LL SEE THE TABLE SET BEFORE YOU. SERVE YOURSELF. YOU AND THESE PEOPLE. THEY MAY APPEAR INACTIVE, ROBOTIC, AND INDIFFERENT. THAT’S ONLY THE EFFECT OF THEIR BEING STUCK HERE. EVEN THE ONES WHO FOLLOWED YOU DOWN HERE—HAVE BEEN THE SAME WAY. LIKEWISE, THAT HAD BEEN THE EFFECT OF THEIR BLIND FOLLOWING. BUT KNOW THIS: THE MOMENT THIS LIGHT FADES AND YOU SEE THE TABLE BEFORE YOU, EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM WILL BE COMPLETELY RESTORED, AND YOU WON’T HAVE TO BRING THEM UP TO SPEED ON THE JOURNEY THUS FAR, NEITHER WILL YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO THEM WHAT’S EXPECTED OF THEM AT THE BUFFET. THEY ALREADY KNOW. THEY ONLY NEEDED TO BE USHERED INTO THE RIGHT ATMOSPHERE TO FUNCTION IN THAT KNOWLEDGE. YOU’VE DONE WELL TO AFFORD THEM THAT ATMOSPHERE.”

“What happens after the buffet?”

“SHHH. NOW, OFF YOU GO.”

THE ENCOUNTER

“What in the world is this place? Who are all these people down here? Children! Teenagers! Young adults! Adults! Fathers! Mothers! Grannies! Who are these people? Why are they here? Wait. This is what the good Samaritans wanted me to see. Yes! These people! Who are they? Can they see me? Why are they all gloomy? Sad. Dispirited. Lamentable. Seemingly lifeless. Who are they? Can they see me? I should show myself and try to get to know them. Oh, there’s a problem. This saggy underpants of mine. I can’t afford to bear another round of reproach. Wait. The saggy underpants. It’s not saggy anymore. It grips tightly to my waist.

“Wait. What? I now have short pants on…covering down to a little above my knee? Goodness me! My covering has been upgraded from mere underpants to short pants. How? When? Where? At what point? Did I… did I…do something to earn this? What? I’m yet to find the banquet. So how come about this upgrade? Did I… was it… was it the… the… the…”

“CONGRATULATIONS.”

“Oh, dear! Mr. Voice! Is that you again? You startled me!”

“I SEE YOU’VE EARNED YOURSELF SHORT PANTS AND NO LONGER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT unclothedness AND REPROACH.”

“Yes, I have. I indeed have! I just don’t know how, when where, and why.”

“YOU EARNED IT THE MOMENT YOU WALKED THROUGH THAT PASSAGEWAY. IT’S A GOOD THING YOU PAID ATTENTION TO LEADING OF THE ONES YOU CALL SAMARITANS.”

“You’ve been watching me all these while? And you wouldn’t say a thing? Despite my dilemma?”

“RULES ARE RULES AND MUST BE FOLLOWED. I LOVE YOUR SHORT PANTS. SPARKLING WHITE. JUST LIKE YOUR UNDERPANTS. AND I SEE YOUR UNDERPANTS ISN’T SAGGY ANYMORE. NO MORE REPROACH INDEED.”

“Indeed. But what about my bare body? No shirt. What about my feet? No shoes. Normally, I step out of my dwelling fully dressed…fondly with a black pair of trousers, a sparkling white shirt, a sophisticated wrist watch, a classic pair of shoes, a nice perfume…with designer undergarments. Compared to that, I feel very naked in this sparkling white short pants.

“WOULD YOU RATHER GO BACK TO THE INITIAL DIRTY SAGGY UNDERPANTS?”

“No! No! Never!”

“I THOUGHT SO TOO. IT’S TIME TO FORGE AHEAD. THERE’S A BUFFET AWAITING YOU. REMEMBER, TICK SAYS THE CLOCK. YOU DON’T HAVE FOREVER TO COMPLETE THIS QUEST, YOU KNOW. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE PEOPLE YOU SEE HERE. JUST LIKE YOU, THEY WERE DRAWN HERE BY THE DEEPEST OF THEIR HEART’S LONGINGS. BUT THE MOTIVE BEHIND THEIR LONGINGS WAS ULTERIOR. SO THEY COULDN’T GET THROUGH. THEY GOT STUCK. OVER TIME, THEIR NUMBER KEPT ACCUMULATING.”

“Did you say ‘over the years?’ They’re too many people here. It couldn’t have taken just years for them to come down here one by one. It must have taken decades. Even centuries!”

“YOU MAY BE RIGHT. BUT THEY DIDN’T COME HERE ONE AFTER THE OTHER. EACH ENTRY HAD A LEADER AND FOLLOWERS. WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A SUMMATION OF DIFFERENT GROUPS OF LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS. ONCE THE LEADERS GOT STUCK, SO DID THE FOLLOWERS. SOME LEADERS WERE INTENTIONAL ABOUT IT. SOME WEHRE CAJOLED INTO IT. SOME WERE TRICKED INTO IT BY THE DECEITFULNESS OF THEIR HEARTS…AND AVARICE. IT’S THE FOLLOWERS WHO ARE OBLIVIOUS OF IT ALL…LIKE MERE SHEEP.”

“I don’t understand. If that’s the case, I should have had company from the start. I suppose—you talking to me and offering guidance makes me a leader. And if each entry comprises a leader and followers, where are my… my… followers. I’ve been alone on this all the while.”

“ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?”

“Oh yes! I know it like a pastor knows the Word.”

“I SEE. WHEN LAST DID YOU LOOK BEHIND YOU?”

“Behind me? Why would I look behind me? I’m looking for a way of here, and that way is before me. So I never look behind. I press forward.”

“MAYBE YOU SHOULD LOOK BEHIND THIS ONCE.”

“Look behind this once? If you say so…………oh God! Oh, God!! Oh God!!! Who are all these people??”

“THOSE ARE YOUR FOLLOWERS. THEY HAVE BEEN TRAILING YOUR EVERY STEP ALL ALONG. IF YOU GET STUCK, THEY GET STUCK. IF YOU MAKE IT OUT, THEY MAKE IT OUT. IF YOUR UNDERPANTS IS SAGGY, THEIRS IS SAGGY TOO. IF YOU GET UPGRADED TO SHORT PANTS, THEY GET UPGRADED TOO.”

“Jesus Christ!”

“YOU’VE DONE WELL THUS FAR. YOU NEED TO GO FIND THAT BANQUET NOW. THERE’S MORE THAN ENOUGH ON THE TABLE FOR YOU AND THEM. YOU GET TO SERVE YOURSELVES. THE OPEN CHEQUE YOU EARNED ISN’T JUST FOR YOU. IT’S FOR YOU AND THEM. NOW, GO AND DO WHAT YOU MUST. THE CLOCK IS THICKING. WAIT AROUND LONG ENOUGH AND YOU MIGHT GET STUCK TOO.”

“Wait a minute. Don’t go yet, please.”

“WHAT NOW?”

“What about these other people. They’ve been stuck here for God knows how long. I can’t seem to bear passing them by. Is there something that can be done for them? I suppose they don’t want to be here anymore than I do. But it seems they’ve run out of time and can’t help it. Can I do anything to help? This is not a good place for anyone to be. Something I can do to help?

“OF COURSE. BUT LIKE I’VE ALWAYS TOLD YOU, EVERYTHING HERE DEPENDS ON THE LEGITIMACY OF YOUR DEEPEST HEART’S LONGINGS. IF THE MOTIVE BEHIND YOUR WANTING TO OFFER THIS HELP IS BORNE OUT OF GENUINE CONCERN…AND IF THIS CONCERN HAD ALWAYS BEEN ACCOMMODATED IN YOUR HEART, EVEN WHEN YOU HADN’T BECOME CONSCIOUS OF IT, THEN IT WILL BE TO THEM ACCORDING TO YOUR HEART’S DESIRE. BUT IF THERE’S ANYTHING FOUL BEHIND YOUR CONCERN, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, YOU’LL IMMEDIATELY GET STUCK HERE WITH THEM. YOU AND YOURS. SO, THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU OPEN THAT DOOR. THERE’S NO GOING BACK.”

“Trust me, I don’t have to think twice. I know what I’ve been through to get this far since I was drawn down here. I can imagine what it’s like to be stuck down here for ages. Why should my concern over the plight of these people be anything short of genuine? The memory will haunt me if I pass them by and make it out of here…especially if there’s something I can do to help. Tell me, what must I do?”

“HAVING HEARD AND UNDERSTOOD THE TERMS OF WHAT YOU ASK, ALL YOU NEED DO IS GIVE YOUR CONSENT, AND IT WILL BE TO YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR HEART.”

“I do. I give… I give my consent.”

“WELL THEN. GIVE IT A LITTLE TIME, AND THE OUTCOME WILL BE MADE KNOWN TO YOU. WHILE WE WAIT, I’VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU.”

“Wow. Do you ask questions too? Amazing! I thought I was the only questionnaire around here. Well then, fire on! I won’t hesitate to dish out answers. I pray I have them.

“HOW DID YOU BECOME THE LEADER OF ALL THESE PEOPLE?”

“Yes! How did I become the leader of all these people? I was going to ask you the same thing! I don’t know! Why don’t you tell me?”

“HAHAHA….”

“Look! Look!”

“WHAT?”

“The people! Everyone! Something has happened to them! They’re not dull and weighed down and dispirited and dressed in rags anymore! Their clothes have changed! Look! They’ve got shoes too! Their bodies have been sanitized! They’ve become cheerful. Not mute anymore! Something has happened to them! Look! Look!”

“YOU CHANNEL ALL YOUR FOCUS ON OTHER PEOPLE AND FORGET TO LOOK AT YOURSELF TOO.”

“Myself? My… Oh my God! I’ve got a pair of black trousers on me! And a sparkling white shirt, just as I love it! See, I’ve got a pair of shoes too! I’ve been upgraded!”

“TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR FOLLOWERS.”

“Oh, Gooood! this is adorable! Everyone has been clothed with beautiful attires! So beautiful. Different outfits for different people!”

“YES. THEY HAVE BEEN CLAD IN ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR FAVOURITE WEARS, AS DISCOVERED FROM THE DEPTH OF THEIR HEARTS. WHEN YOU GET TO THE BANQUET—IF YOU MAKE IT—THE SAME WILL BE THE CASE. YOU’LL ALL SERVE YOURSELVES ACCORDING TO THE DEEPEST LONGINGS OF YOUR HEARTS. YOU MAY NOT LIKE THIS PLACE. BUT ONE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT THIS PLACE IS THAT IT SEARCHES THE CORE OF A PERSON’S HEART AND REWARDS THEM WITH WHATEVER IT FINDS THEREIN. WHEN YOU DESIRE CERTAIN HEIGHTS IN LIFE THAT ARE BEYOND THE USUAL, THAT DESIRE DRAWS YOU HERE TO GET YOUR HEART TESTED, TO ENSURE THERE IS NO MALEVOLENCY IN YOUR QUEST. THE WORLD IS WEARY OF MALEVOLENT STARS AND MALIGNANT INFLUENCE. WE NEED SOME GOOD OUT THERE.”

“We? Did you say ‘we?’ You know, you haven’t introduced yourself to me. It seems like we have something in common…like a sort of common interest. You want to talk about it?”

DISQUIETUDE

“A journey of a million miles begins with a step. This journey might be well over a million miles. Have I even taken a step yet? It doesn’t feel like I have. I’ve got this blank cheque that I’m supposed to write my deepest heart’s cravings on. Is this how it works? Really? Didn’t God simply appear to Solomon in a dream with a question he only had to answer with a few words? What’s with this deepest heart’s cravings? Not to mention that I could get stuck! I don’t know what next to do. There’s a buffet ahead? Where? How’s my heart supposed to lead me there. Am I supposed to pick the aroma of food and trail it to the banquet? Where do I start?

“This place is dark. Apart from trailing the voice, every step I take is like a walk in the wilderness. Wait. Wilderness? Is that what this place is? A wilderness? Yes! It must be! A wilderness! Oh my God, I made to the wilderness. I’ve only ever heard and read of this place. Now I’m here! How do I navigate along a wilderness? I’ve got no compass. Nothing to give me a sort of direction. Oh no, there I go again. Even if I did have a compass, how would I see and grasp direction from it? It’s black darkness here! But how I come I can see this white underpants despite the darkness? Even when it was all dirtied, I could see it, yet I can’t see anything else?

“This must be a mysterious wilderness…an Island. Nothing I’ve heard or read about before. This better not be where I get stuck because it’s been a similitude of ages since the buffet was mentioned. Yet, I’m nowhere close to trailing it. God! This better not be where I get stuck! My heart! My heart! My deepest longings! My zeal! My passion! Lord help me! Please! Wait!

“yesterday.”

“What? What was that? Yesterday? Did I just hear ‘yesterday?’ Was that my heart? My deepest longing? My zeal? My passion? Yes! That was my heart! My deepest longing! Wait. I long for yesterday? How? I don’t understand. Yesterday? Seriously? Oh my! That’s how I cracked the first code. Yes! Yesterday! I have to recall some more events from yesterday. Erm, where do I start from this time? Was there more after the last occurrence I recollected? I recalled up to the blank cheque. What happened after then? Nothing significant that I can think of. I’d left the scene after conceding the quest. Wait a sec…the quest! I conceded! That was very shortly before the blank cheque. Something happened before the concession. What?”

“Uproar! Yes! Uproar! Uproar 2023! That’s it! That’s what happened! The people! They pounced on me on account of my inexperience! Mad masses, fuming with toxic desperateness for the dawning of a new era I’d promised—but failed to deliver despite my excellent oratory in the promise-making. I was forced to concede. There was no other option. The uproar was becoming deafening! Even assuming violent dimensions. Word battering wherever I turned. I’d disappointed many who believed in me. I’d betrayed many trusts. Belittled the effort of many whose shoulders I stood upon—to stand a chance in the race…in the first place.

“Broke many loving hearts. Dishonored many predecessors. Transgressed many laws. Lightly esteemed the gift of men. Wounded many souls. What a monster I’d been. I’d become so self-exultant. Prideful. Haughty. Demeaning. Condescending. Narcissistic. Impelled by greed. Boastful. Arrogant. Reviling. Disobedient. Ungrateful. Profane. Unloving. Calloused. Inhumane. Irreconcilable. Brutal. Reckless. Conceited. Toxic. What a monster I’d become! Little wonder the offense… the clap backs… the retaliation… the uproar. Yes! The uproar! Uproar 2023! The uproar that plunged me into this dangerous adventure. It was the uproar!

“But how? I don’t remember a thing about how that happened. Like a bad dream, I seemed to have closed my eyes…only to open them and find myself in an unknown zone. This unknown zone. This Terra Incognita. What am I to do now? These memories are coming back to me. but what am I to do with them? How do I use them to navigate myself out of here? I want out of here! I want out of here really fast! This is not a good place! I could get stuck! Can I give back the cheque? I want to go back to my past life. To forget about my heart’s longings and zeal and cravings. I want to go back to my past life. How do I get back? How do I get out? How do I? How…

“Did I just hear something? Voices? Did I just hear voices? Voices! Those are voices! Voices indeed! Dissenting voices! Wild chants! Weeping! Lamentations! Confrontations! Vehement threats! Fights! Struggles! Possible deaths. An uproar? An uproar! Where’s that place? It’s not far from here. The voices are closing in, intensifying with each passing minute, each second, strengthening slowly, steadily. Wait, it’s here! It’s them! The people! The uproar! I see them! Some furious! Some troubled. Some wild! Some weak. Some brutal! Some exhausted. Some with a sense of satisfaction. Some disappointed. I see people! Familiar people! People I know!

“This is magical! I’m not advancing towards them; neither are they towards me. Yet we’re closing in on each other. Oh my God! My underpants! I’ve only got this saggy underpants on me! Can they see me? They better not see me like this! It will be such a shame! I must hide! Hide! Where? No hiding place here. I can only hope they don’t see me. How’s that possible? I see them. How can they not see me? Wait, what’s that? Laughter? They’re laughing…at me. They see! They see me! Oh, God! What’s this? They’re pointing…pointing fingers…at me! This doesn’t look good! What’s that look on their faces? Resentment? Anger? Hate? Ill-will? Enmity? Gosh!

“What’s that other look on other faces? Pity? Sympathy? Compassion? There’s this other look on other faces: that of fulfillment, joy, ridicule, mockery, treachery, satisfaction. Goodness me! Look there! I know those people! I know those other people! I know many people there! Old school friends. Old work acquaintances. Old neighbors. Many who fall into the category of ‘old’ and ‘former.’ Hadn’t we lost touch? Hadn’t life dispersed us in different routes? What’s that scornful look on many of their faces? What’s that thrill? I do not suppose they are happy to see me again. Doesn’t look like it. Oh, it’s my underpants! My underpants! My saggy underpants! How come we can see each other despite the darkness. This is a really mysterious place.

“They see me! They see me! Shame! Look! I know the others too! My new acquaintances! My present comrades too! Look! I know the others! We aren’t close! Have never conversed. Just innocent exchange of pleasantries at best! And the others? Who are they? I don’t know them! But they seem to know me! They seem equally resentful, angry, hateful, treacherous, pitiful. They share the same feelings as the ones I know. There’s unity amongst them. An amoral unity…one that can neither accommodate me nor would—if it could. Look! They’re throwing stones! They’re throwing stones…at me! It’s not safe here anymore! I must get out! I must get out now! Wait, the stones…the stones…they aren’t getting to me. They aren’t.

“The stones aren’t getting to me. But I don’t feel any less stoned. The stoning is relentless. If it got to me, I’d be dead by now. Wait. Dead? Death? Is that what they want? They want me dead? Why? Why? For goodness sake, why? What’s going on? What’s all this? Did I wrong all these people? I don’t know 98% of them! How could I have wronged them? So why do they want me…why do they want me…want me…dead…dead? Look there! The others! The pitiful ones. The sympathetic ones. The compassionate ones. I can tell from the look on their faces that they want to help. Somehow, it seems they can’t. I know some. I don’t know most. How did all these people come to know me? Why do they all have their eyes fixed on me?

“Look, there are others! Neither hostile nor friendly. Not exactly caring about me…or my saggy underpants…or my shame. They seem overwhelmed with…overwhelmed with issues…their issues. Do I go to these people and perhaps strike a conversation? Ask some questions? Gain clarity? Possibly get things settled and march along as one to the banquet. Yes! The banquet! They would like that! There’s no food here, and they seem to have been here for long…long before I came along. Are they stuck here or something? They must be hungry. Telling them about the banquet is likely to calm their nerves and put me in their good books, though I lack knowledge of how I made it to their bad books. It’s worth a try, instead of just standing here.

“Jeez! What was that? What did I just run into? A wall? A wall! An invisible wall! Oh, there’s a wall between us! I see. No wonder the stones didn’t get to me. What are they doing now? Laughing? Laughing at me? For running into a wall? Is this how much ill these people wish me? Even the littlest misconduct on my part triggers a forced amusement from them? What would have been my fate—had they not been a wall between us? Death! Death! Certainly death! But wait, is this life? This place, is it a habitation of the living? There’s no one here but me. The company I thought I’d found here, turns out not be be here. They’re somewhere else…watching…watching me…here…alone…alone. What’s happening? What is this place?

“I guess I’ll just have to be on my way to that banquet…get something to eat, though I’m not hungry. That’s strange. I’m not hungry. How come? Just thirsty. Not hungry. As I said, the sight of the free food is likely to stir hunger. Definitely. I just need to get away from these people. They’re relentless. They wouldn’t take a break from the taunting, the ridicule, the mockery, the banter! This is overwhelming! If I spend one more moment here, I might have a nervous breakdown. The toxicity is beyond suffocating! It shrinks my soul within me. Wait! Isn’t that their aim? To shrink my soul? With toxicity? Overwhelm me! And get me stuck here? That’s it! That’s it! I must move along immediately! Jeez! What did I do to these people?

“Looks like no matter where I run, I can’t seem to elude the prying eyes of this carnivorous audience. Thank God they’re not all the same. I can spot the Samaritans among them. The good Samaritans. They’ve been making subtle gestures all along. I don’t seem to understand. More like they’re trying to show me something…something I’m not seeing. Something I’m not paying attention to seeing. My focus has been on the toxic ones all the while. Could that be why I’m not reading the signs? Are they signs or just random gestures? I’ll have to pay more attention to find out. Yeah. I see that. I see that again. Indeed, I see that again. Wait! Look! The toxic ones. They’re now gesturing. They’re gesturing too!

“What are they saying? What are they all saying? I don’t understand. The toxic ones now seem to be less toxic and make the same gestures as the Samaritans. They’re even now looking like the Samaritans. And look! Some Samaritans have become toxic! What? Like, seriously? Look! I’m noticing something strange. There’s this sect among them, alternating between toxicity and Samaritan. What is this? Illusion! Delusion! Deception! Just when I thought I’d encountered well-wishers, this happens? Look! Among them—another sect. neither here nor there. Indifferent. Observers. A neutral audience. The expression on their faces betrays their indifference. A motive is reflected thereof, an undecipherable motive, to never be trusted. Look again! Another sect! Universal in their dealings. No alternations among them.

“There’s consistent uniformity in their gesturing. Look! They’re trying to tell me something! They’re all saying the same thing! It’s hard to decipher. I should go left? Left? Is that it? No? right? which one is it? Left or right? Gosh! This is backbreaking…an arduous task! But it’s my only hope. I’ve got to find a way to decipher the gestures. I’ve got to. I’ve got to. It’s my only hope. Better to be on the move while doing so, than get stuck here trying to decipher the gestures. Who knows how long it’s going to take. I need to move…move, now. All these eyes on me! Aren’t they ever going to get them off me? Not even for a moment? I must be deemed a sort of a wanted criminal…otherwise, why the keenly fixated aggrieved gaze?

“I wish I’d get to the banquet already. It’s cold out here…with these people. I need some solace. Some good energy. Something to shake off the weight of this toxicity, possibly hide from these prying eyes. Where’s the banquet for crying out loud! This is too much for me. I can’t take it anymore. It was much better when I was all alone. But I craved company. Now I have company, and the one thing I now crave is solitude. That doesn’t look like a possibility. Will I just have to cope with all these eyes on me? For how long? How long? Am I stuck already? Is this how one gets stuck? Are they others on this side who are stuck? The voice said there are. Where could that be? Far away? Nearby? Around the corner? Where?

“Look! The gestures…the gestures by the true Samaritans who are all trying to tell me the same thing. No, they are not trying to tell me something. They are trying to show me something. Yes! They’re showing me something. I get it now! Yes! To the right. To the left. Turn around. Few steps forward. Wait. Seriously? What’s this? A dead-end? Did they direct me to a dead end? Why would they do that? I thought they… look, they’re showing me something else. Showing me… no… not showing. They’re now telling me something. What’s that? What are they saying? Bend… bend… bend over! Yes! Bend over! Bend… oh my God!

“It wasn’t a dead end. It has a passageway down below. They want me to go in there. What’s in there? It looks even darker in there. It could be dangerous. I can’t go in there. But they… they’re seriously urging me to go in there. Are they trying to get me stuck here or something? On second thoughts, ain’t I already stuck? I don’t even know where to go from here. They look like good people…the best of them all. They wouldn’t be leading me into a trap, would they? I don’t know…I don’t know. I’m confused. Then again, what other options do I have? Something must kill a man. If this is what kills me, so be it. Hey unknown, here I come!”

THOUGHTS

“I didn’t bargain for this. How could I come here job-hunting? Oh, not job-hunting. I was drawn… drawn here … by my deepest heart’s yearnings, zeal, passions. What’s that? How could… how’s that possible? And, my destination is heaven? Heaven? Of course, heaven is the goal. But how can this be the pathway to heaven? I can’t even recall how I got here. Now I’ve got to follow my heart out of here? To heaven? What’s this for Christ’s sake! What’s this! And what’s this saggy underpants I’m wearing. Why is it dirty? Why is it saggy? And my body…dirt all over. I need to take a shower. I’m thirsty too. Is there water here? Is there anything here?

“Oh my! I’m going crazy! I’ve got to be out of here before I suffocate. I need to make a call. I need to call someone. Yes! Where’s my phone? Oh no! I’ve got nothing on me… nothing except this filthy white saggy underpants! Did I get leaner? Or is it just oversized? It wouldn’t cling to my waist. So I’ve got to hold on to it—to keep its grip, else it’ll fall off and I’ll have to go on naked. What’s the difference anyways? What good can some dirtied white saggy and reproachable underpants do in covering the body? The body? The body? That’s just funny, isn’t it? Very funny!

“Who would I be concealing my unclothedness from? There’s no one here for all I care! Just me and these thoughts. Oh, he said there are others. Who is he? Who are the others? How did they get here? Yes! yes! That’s it! The others! I’ve got to find them. I’ve got to! I need to talk to someone. But how do I find someone? Where do I go from here? In what direction? It’s dark. It’s gloomy. It’s scary. I’m losing my mind…even close to tears. What has happened to me? Can I reverse this? Can I go back in time and alter my heart’s yearnings and zeal and passions so I wouldn’t have to thread this path? What can I do to change this fate? Oh, Lord!

“Was I too forward to see forever from yesterday? Did I outrun my shadow? I certainly did. If not, it would at least have been a companion here, though unhelpful. As for forever, this could just be mine if I get stuck. I hope I don’t. I hope I don’t. And what about yesterday? I’d give anything to go back to yesterday. Wait a minute? Yesterday? Yes, yesterday! What about yesterday? I surely can’t go back to yesterday. But there must be something about yesterday that would explain today… this moment… this path… this journey. What about yesterday?”

-----

YESTERDAY

“I’d conceded the quest. I’d gone back to living life to the fullest while keeping tabs with happenings. I’d gone back to reading, digging, searching, self-development, to all that would help prepare me for the future. I’d resolved to take another shot at the quest…sometime later! I’d decided that until such a time, I’d be dedicated to upgrading myself, to be better equipped to seize opportunities when they come along. I was going to be busy learning everything learnable, discovering everything discoverable, searching everything searchable, especially scriptures, having observed that the wisest man to have walked the earth had been in my position, burdened with a glorious purpose of leading a great people and wasn’t overwhelmed like I was.

“Almost immediately after his father (king David) passed away and he (Solomon) took over the throne of Israel, he gave an order to all the officers in charge of units of a thousand/hundred men, all the government officials, all the heads of families, and everyone else; commanding them to go with him to the place of worship at Gibeon. They went there because that was where the tent of the Lord's presence was located. Solomon had a thousand animals killed and offered as a sacrifice to God. That very night, God appeared to him and asked what he (Solomon) would like Him (God) to do for him. These were Solomon’s exact words:”

“…o Lord God, you have let me succeed my father as king, even though I am very young and don't know how to rule. Here I am among the people you have chosen to be your own, a people who are so many that they cannot be counted. Give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule these great people of yours?”

“Pleased with Solomon’s request and the motive behind that request, God answered him thus: ‘because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself, or riches, or the death of your enemies, I will do what you have asked. I will give you more wisdom and understanding than anyone has ever had before, or will ever have again. I will also give you what you have not asked for. All your life, you will have wealth and honor, more than that of any other king. And if you obey me and keep my laws and commands; as your father David did, I will give you a long life.’ Yes! That’s it! Those are the last moments of yesterday that I can recall. Oh no, there’s more. I remember some more. Not some. Many!

“I’d set out to replicate that event and become a wise man in the order of King Solomon. I seemed quite sure I’d make that happen sooner than later; that God would also get to ask what I want and I’d reply like Solomon. Yes! Yes! Yes! Though I’d at some point considered myself to be under the illusion that good things do come from Nazareth, I’d nonetheless doubted if I was really under an illusion because good does indeed come out of Nazareth. Isn’t Nazareth known to have birthed the best treasure the world has ever been blessed with? Jesus of Nazareth; the Son of the living God. Yes! I remember. I do! But what has that got to do with any of this? Was that supposed to plunge me into this path? With saggy underpants? Unbathed?

“Something is not adding up. Did I do like Solomon? Had I sacrificed a thousand animals? Did I receive an open cheque in a dream—like Solomon? To fill in whatever my heart longed for? Wait a minute, did I just say ‘whatever my heart longed for?’ Isn’t that what the… the… I don’t know his name. He wouldn’t say. But hadn’t he mentioned that I was drawn here by the deepest longings of my heart? By my zeal? My passion? Oh no! This has got to be a dream! Is this a blank cheque? Could this be a dream—like Solomon’s? Am I supposed to write my heart’s deepest longings on it? Wait. Where’s the cheque? How do I do that? How do I… How…?”

“WELL DONE!”

Who’s there? Who’s there? Show yourself!

“WELL DONE INDEED! YOU IMPRESS ME. I DIDN’T THINK WE’D SPEAK AGAIN THIS SOON.”

“Is that you?”

“YES. NOW THAT YOU’VE CRACKED THE FIRST CODE, YOU’VE EARNED SOME MORE GUIDANCE. AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT YOUR SAGGY UNDERPANTS AND UNBATHED BODY. YOU’VE CLEANED UP.”

“I’ve cleaned up? How? Wait a minute. My body is all cleaned up! And my underpants isn’t dirty anymore! What’s this? What happened?”

“THE MORE CODES YOU CRACK; THE BETTER YOU GET…UNTIL YOU BECOME ALL YOU HAVE CONCEIVED IN YOUR HEART TO BECOME. AND YES, THIS IS YOUR BLANK CHEQUE. YOU EARNED IT. WRITE ON IT WHATEVER YOUR HEART CRAVES. I MUST ADVISE THOUGH, BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET GREEDY. THAT’S HOW YOU GET STUCK. YOUR HEART’S DEEPEST LONGINGS WILL PREVAIL NONETHELESS. THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT THAT. FOR YOUR GOOD, I HOPE YOUR MOTIVE WAS RIGHT FROM THE START.”

“I… You…What… What now?”

“ON TO THE NEXT ONE. THERE’S A BANQUET AHEAD…GRACED WILL ALL MANNER OF DELICACIES…A BUFFET. YOU MUST BE HUNGRY. GET THERE AND SERVE YOURSELF.”

“Really? Wow! Great! I’m dying of thirst already, though I don’t feel hungry. But with such a table set before me, hunger is just around the corner. Haha.”

“GOD’S SPEED, THEN.”

“Please wait. My underpants is still saggy. It’s now sparkling white and my body is sanitized. But… but… am I supposed to grace a place like that with just underpants? How about clothes? Can I get some clothes…to cover my body? I’m naked. There are going to be people there, right? right? Hello? Hello?? Oh, he’s gone. How he just vanishes without warning! Urghhh!”

ABSTRACT

“NOW THEREFORE; YE ARE NO MORE STRANGERS AND FOREIGNERS, BUT FELLOW CITIZENS WITH THE SAINTS, AND OF THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD…”

Hello? Who’s there?

“AND ARE BUILT UPON THE FOUNDATION OF THE APOSTLES AND PROPHETS, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF BEING THE CHIEF CORNER STONE…”

Hello?? Who’s there, please??

“IN WHOM ALL THE BUILDING FITLY FRAMED TOGETHER GROWETH UNTO AN HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD…”

Who’s there?? Say something!!!

“IN WHOM YE ALSO ARE BUILT TOGETHER FOR AN HABITATION OF GOD THROUGH THE SPIRIT.”

Who are you?? Say something, please!!! Hello? Hello?? Hello??

KNOW YE NOT THAT YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLETH IN YOU??”

I… Uhh, I…

-----

INTRODUCTION

All the world is a stage…men and women—merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. Whether this is an exit or entrance, it is unknown…as unknown as which world-stage it is. But one thing is certain: it is alien. Unfamiliar. Gloomy. Even evil. Entrance unnoticed. Exit inconceivable. Strange locale. Unearthly. Tomblike. More like a gateway to… Wait! To where? Hell? Gateway to hell? Something’s not right! Something’s not right! And what was that voice? That indistinctly fading voice? Anyone here? Hello? Hello?? Hello??

-----

TERRA INCOGNITA

“An uproar. Far away. Far, far away. Familiar chaos. Dissenting voices. Wild chants. Violent outbreaks. Gunshots. Weeping. Lamentations. Confrontations. Vehement threats. Fights. Struggles. Possible deaths. What’s that uproar? And where’s that place? It’s far from here. Still, the uproar echoes, though fading with each passing minute, each passing second, fading slowly, slowly-steadily. Wait! No echoes anymore. No more voices. No uproar. It’s all ceased. Is that silence? It’s silence. Loud silence—suddenly. Where’s everyone? Where was that place? Wait, where’s this place? This dark place. No one’s here. None but me. Or, anyone here? Anyone?

“What’s this dirty white underpants? White has never been a favorite color for short pants, not to mention underpants. How come about this white underpants? Dirty for that matter! No shoes! No shirt! Nothing at all! Just this white underpants! This dirty white saggy underpants! What’re all these? Where is this place? What was the way in? Way in? Seriously? Come on now! Oh no! Rather, what’s the way out? Yes, the way out! Who’s here? Anybody? There’s got to be someone! Anybody! Somebody! Please! A way out, please! It’s too dark! Too gloomy! Too scary! A way out please! Help! Somebody help!”

“WALK!”

“Huh? Who’s there? I heard something. I heard someone! I heard you! I heard you! Did you say “walk?” Hello? Did you say “walk?” Oh c’mon! Talk to me please! I’m already going nuts!”

“WALK.”

“Walk! Yes, walk. I heard that. I’m walking. I’m walking. Yes, I… wait. Walk? Walk where? It’s dark all-around. Black! I can barely see a thing. Walk where? Hello? Hello? Are you there?”

“TRAIL MY VOICE.”

“Trail your voice? Yes! Trail your voice! Erm… erm… there’s a little problem here. I’m afraid trailing your voice might be a little difficult except you speak up more. Would you? Please?”

“THE JOURNEY AHEAD IS FAR AND TEDIOUS. TICK SAYS THE CLOCK; WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO, DO QUICK.”

“Oh my God! Journey? What journey? I don’t remember signing up for any journey. Even if I did, why would I journey to this… this… Uhm… that reminds me; where’s this place? I don’t know this place. Last I remember, I was… I was… yes! That was me! The uproar! That was me! I recall now! Uproar 2023! Wild chants! Streets invasion! Prayer walks! Revolution! That was me! The protests! The relentless marches by wild masses, all clamoring for one thing: a revolution! A better nation! New dawn! And I was the… the… the pioneer! I remember now, vividly. I never journeyed here. I don’t even know this place. I don’t like this place! I don’t!”

“TRAIL MY VOICE, AND YOU’LL BE OUT OF HERE LONG ENOUGH.”

“Thank goodness! Gosh! Uh, wait, long enough? Did you say long enough? That doesn’t quite resonate—if you ask me. I want out of here almost immediately. Very immediately. Can you do that? Would you do that? Do that, please. Yes, now. Do it now. There seems to be no one here beside you… and me. I don’t remember coming here. I don’t even know the way here. I mean, I don’t know here. Wait, did you… did you… did you bring me here? Did you bri…”

“EASY THERE. EASY. I UNDERSTAND YOUR UNEASE. BUT EASE UP. BOTTLE YOUR CURIOSITY. YOU’LL FIND YOUR ANSWERS EVENTUALLY…AS MUCH AS YOU’LL FIND WHAT YOU CAME HERE TO SEEK…IF YOU DON’T GET IT MIXED UP. HOPE YOU’RE AS GREED-FREE AS YOU’RE SELF-ACCLAIMED TO BE? YOU MADE IT HERE TOO FAST, TOO SOON; BEFORE ANYONE COULD VET YOUR RÉSUMÉ.”

“Résumé? I came here job-hunting?”

“NOT EXACTLY.”

“Of course not! Not! C’mon, what’s going on? Would you just spill the beans and spare me the ciphers? I’m fast slipping into an anxious breakdown. I don’t understand a thing that’s going on. Are there others here? Anyone else apart from you and me? I’d love to meet people…people I can see. Where are they? Who are you? And where are you taking me?”

“HEAVEN.”

“Heaven? Hea…”

“YES, HEAVEN. ISN’T THAT WHERE YOU ASKED TO BE TAKEN?”

“I… I…?”

“MAKE NO MISTAKES ABOUT IT…NARROW IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE. IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN. IT ALWAYS WILL BE. IF YOU FAINT NOT, HEAVEN WILL BE YOUR HOME—AS YOU DESIRE. NOW, GIRD UP YOUR LOINS. WE’RE ABOUT TO START HAVING COMPANY. WAIT, WE? OH NO; YOU. YOU ARE ABOUT TO START HAVING COMPANY. SOME NICE. SOME DESTITUTE. SOME…SOME…”

“What? Some what? Tell me. Some what?”

“YOU AREN’T ALONE HERE. YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE THE LATEST ARRIVAL. MANY HAVE BEEN HERE. MANY ARE HERE. MANY ARE COMING, STILL. SOME STRAY HERE. SOME COME WITH DEFINITE PURPOSES. SOME…”

“Your words are confusing. I don’t think I’m following.”

“YOU WOULD IF YOU QUIT INTERRUPTING ME LIKE THAT.”

“Sorry.”

“YOU STARTED ON A JOURNEY YOU WEREN’T EXACTLY CLEAR ABOUT. NO IDEA OF THE ROUTE. NO ROAD MAP. JUST A BLIND VENTURE INTO THE UNKNOWN. MORE LIKE AN ADVENTURE. THE GOOD THING IS: YOU’VE GOT A DESTINATION IN MIND. AS MUCH AS IT IS UP TO ME, I’LL OFFER GUIDANCE.”

“As much as it is up to you? I’m only making moves because I’m trailing your voice. How can it not be up to you to offer me guidance all the way? If you hadn’t spoken to me, I’d be stuck.”

“WELL, FOR STATERS, I DIDN’T GUIDE YOU HERE. YOU WERE DRAWN HERE BY YOUR DEEPEST HEART’S YEARNINGS. ZEAL. PASSIONS. THE SAME SHOULD GUIDE YOU THROUGH. BUT THEN, YOU SEEM LOST. UNCERTAIN WHERE YOU ARE OR HOW YOU GOT HERE. EVEN STUCK—IF NOT HELPED. GOOD FOR YOU, AN ASSESSMENT OF YOUR MOTIVE HAS EARNED YOU A DEGREE OF GUIDANCE WHERE NECESSARY. YOU’LL BE HEARING MORE OR LESS FROM ME—DEPENDING ON THE LEGITIMACY OF YOUR PERCEIVED VIRTUOUS MOTIVE.”

“Uhm, can I ask you a question?”

“NO. YOUR HEART IS FULL OF QUESTIONS WHOSE ANSWERS CAN ONLY BE DISCOVERED, NOT ANSWERED. BURIED AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN THIS ADVENTURE ARE THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK. DEPENDING ON THE STATE OF YOUR HEART AND THE GENUINENESS OF YOUR INTENTIONS, YOU’LL DIG THEM OUT AND ADVANCE YOUR COURSE TILL YOU REACH YOUR JOURNEY'S END: HEAVEN. BUT LIKE I SAID, NARROW IS THE WAY THAT LEADS TO LIFE. YOU CHOSE THE NARROW PATH. NOW, WALK THROUGH IT. GOD’S SPEED.”

“Wait! Wait, please! One more thing. You’re there? Hello? Hello??”

“SPEAK.”

“What’s this place? And how do I go on without your voice to trail?”

“FOLLOW YOUR HEART. AS FOR THIS PLACE… THIS PLACE… UNTIL YOU MAKE IT OUT, YOU’LL NEVER REALLY KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE IS. BUT IF IT’S ANYTHING TO YOU, YOU CAN REFER TO THIS PLACE AS ‘TERRA INCOGNITA.’”

“Terra Incognita? What does that mean?”

“AN UNKNOWN AND UNEXPLORED REGION…NOW YOURS TO EXPLORE; AS YOU WISHED TO. I’LL BE WAITING SOMEWHERE AHEAD FOR YOU. IF YOU NEVER HEAR FROM ME AGAIN, KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT YOU’VE BEEN STUCK.”

“Stuck? I could be stuck here? Wait a minute, are there people stuck here? Why did they get stuck? What did they do? Hello? Give me some hints. What’s your name? Hello?? Hello??”

In my opinion, this writeup solves your problem. Just get Grace to read it. Then apologise. I have no doubts she'll feel loved & cherished after reading this...& that feeling will surpass any feelings of betrayal that might strike her.

UPROAR 2023

“Mr. President, we can’t take this anymore! Nigeria is not anybody’s company! Nigeria is not anybody’s property! She is not a commodity for sale or rent! See ehn, this Nigeria is not somebody’s BUSINESS CENTER ooh! Hehehe! Nigeria belongs to Nigerians! For how long shall we keep robbing Peter to pay Paul?! We can’t even have a fallout with Ghana without them “dragging” us for ZERO ELECTRICITY. But thanks to Nigeria, Ghana is a PARADISE OF CONSTANT LIGHT!”

The uproar is that of WILD CHANTS FROM MAD MASSES, all shot at Mr. President from North, South, East, and West! “IT IS 2023!” they ROAR ON! “We want things to begin to be as they should be! We are not going to be SPECTATORS anymore! We are not going to be an AUDIENCE to merely cheer PERFORMERS for their performances (no matter how awkward). We refuse to continue being CAJOLED! No time for anybody! See, Mr. President, things must change! Nigeria must REBOOT!”

If Mr. President had known, he would have stopped at AIRING PRE-RECORDED VIDEO CLIPS ON TV as an address to the roaring masses. At least, that way, the masses wouldn’t do any more than to keep wailing - while waiting to watch his next CLIP. But this young, ebullient Mr. President, this ambassador of goodwill, decided to play down on ARISTOTLE’S MODEL OF COMMUNICATION (which only allows the SENDER TO SEND THE MESSAGE TO THE RECEIVER - IN AN ATTEMPT TO INFLUENCE THE RECEIVER TO RESPOND ACCORDINGLY): NO FEEDBACK WHATSOEVER! Mr. President imagined IT WOULD BE BETTER TO INTERACT WITH THE MASSES, TO ALLOW FOR AN AVENUE THROUGH WHICH THE MASSES CAN REACH OUT AND TALK WITH HIM DIRECTLY.

So, he opted for the TRANSACTIONAL MODEL OF COMMUNICATION (which allows for each person in the communication process to act as both speaker and listener, SIMULTANEOUSLY SENDING AND RECEIVING MESSAGES ON THE GO). In this model, EACH PERSON in the communication process reacts depending on factors such as their backgrounds, prior experiences, attitudes, cultural beliefs, and SELF-ESTEEM (like in radio and TV shows when diverse listeners are allowed to call-in).

The people seized that opportunity to CHEW HIM RAW! Serves him right! The next time he wants to NURTURE AMBITION, he will know better than to GO FARMING WITHOUT SUFFICIENT FARM TOOLS. He would have understood that “in any venture, a man is supposed to overvalue the negative estimates of his prospects by two; while undervaluing the positive estimates by half.” At this point, Mr. President has no estimations, nor SUFFICIENT LEADERSHIP KNOW-HOW!

All he has is ambition, a sense of purpose, and a heart for the people. It’s quite unfortunate that HIS INCOMPETENCE IN THIS AREA HAS SEEN HIM SHOOTING HIMSELF IN THE LEG; by allowing for MULTIPLE SIMULTANEOUS CYBER-FEEDBACKS which only succeeded in INTENSIFYING THE UPROAR. Once Mr. President was ON AIR and the people confirmed that his offer to treat them to a cyber-interactive session was not a BLUFF, NIGERIANS from ALL CORNERS INVADED THE CYBERSPACE and tabled DIVERSE ISSUES ALL AT THE SAME TIME - not minding if Mr. President was MAKING OUT ANYTHING FROM THEIR DEAFENING UPROAR!

Some called-in. But due to REPEATED NETWORK JAMS because of the multitude of people TRYING TO CALL IN AT THE SAME TIME, the majority resorted to VENTING THEIR ANGER ON SOCIAL MEDIA: (SOCIAL MEDIA BILL COMES TO MIND). The BITTER PROTESTS from the masses echoed to the hearing of the “NO DO PASS YOURSELF” CREW, who only OBSERVED THE SHOWDOWN FROM THE SAFETY OF THEIR COMFORT ZONES. They could see MORE BITTER COMPLAINTS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA sliding across the bottom of their TV screens at an ACCELERATING PACE!

Mr. President wished there could be a NETWORK GLITCH so he would use that as an avenue to BAILOUT! But no! NETWORK WAS VERY GOOD! There were no STREAMING INCONSISTENCIES (despite the fact that the session was STREAMED ON 2G NETWORK). There were no TECHNICAL ISSUES, no BLANK OUT, no CONNECTION HITCHES, nothing at all. The session RAN SMOOTHLY, except for the DEAFENING UPROAR from the masses which made Mr. President feeling HOMESICK.

Mr. President was struggling to calm the people and to court their attention. He sought to have them listen to him - so he would attempt using COLORFUL ELOQUENCE to appeal to their reasoning (just like Tyrion the dwarf would do). But that was futile! These people were done listening! They were done waiting! Done hoping! And they were done BEING FOOLED AROUND! All they want, is for Mr. President to DELIVER THE COUNTRY FROM EVIL. So they roared! And roared! And wouldn’t stop ROARING!

-----

“Mr. President we are tired! We are tired of the poor health care system in the country! We want a turnaround right now! We don’t mind being dragged back to as far as 1885 when the Roman Catholic missions established the first hospital: SACRED HEART HOSPITAL in Abeokuta, followed by other COLONIAL HOSPITALS. At least, that way, there wouldn’t be so many trips abroad for medical checkups, and commoners wouldn’t lack for where to test for Covid-19, HIV, even Malaria!

“After the Berlin conference on November 15th, 1884 where AFRICA WAS DIVIDED BY EUROPEAN POWERS and Nigeria was OFFICIALLY ESTABLISHED AS A BRITISH COLONY, those health care systems and hospitals CONTINUED TO BLOSSOM with the best hands as nurses and doctors; such that other nations trooped into Nigeria for the best medical care: the kind of medical care that could only be accessed in Britain. Even SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY was using UCH Ibadan in the 50s.”

“But Mr. President, WHERE ARE THOSE HOSPITALS TODAY? Isn’t it a shame that AFTER BRITAIN HANDED A SOUND, ROBUST, AND ONE OF THE BEST HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS/HOSPITALS IN THE WORLD TO NIGERIA (following her independence in 1960), and that AFTER 135 YEARS SINCE THE FIRST HOSPITAL WAS ESTABLISHED IN NIGERIA, all we can boast of today, are VOID DILAPIDATED BUILDINGS as hospitals?? Nigerians now go to get medical care from the SAME COUNTRIES THAT USED TO PATRONIZE HER FOR MEDICAL TOURISM IN THE PAST. It’s not that we lack manpower, good doctors, or nurses. But our health facilities are all in COMATOSE, and you’re here, telling us to calm down and listen to you? What are you going to tell us, THAT WE HAVE NOT HEARD BEFORE??”

Mr. President was about addressing THE MATTER when the telecom sector interrupted and tabled its own matter! “Mr. President, because of the need of the colonial government to connect with other colonial administrations in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and England, TELECOMMUNICATION WAS ESTABLISHED IN NIGERIA IN 1886. Britain brought Telecommunication into Nigeria two years after they arrived (just five years after Britain started telecommunications as a whole in 1881).”

“But after the British HANDED OVER A SOUND TELECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM to Nigeria during independence in 1960, and after 134 years since telecommunication was established in Nigeria, we can't boast of good telecoms networks! We can't boast of smooth networks! We still experience drop calls or no network! Nigeria's telecommunication is dominated and ran mostly as foreign-owned. Isn’t it such a CRYING SHAME?? Mr. President, Isn’t it?? And you are still telling us to calm down??”

The POWER SECTOR didn’t give Mr. President BREATHING SPACE before slamming him with their own MATTER. “Mr. President, 12 years after the British colonialists established their presence in Nigeria, they successfully generated power in 1896. They grew and sustained electricity in Nigeria until they handed over a functional and robust power sector to Nigeria, following her independence. But isn’t it QUITE SHAMEFUL that 124 years after power was first generated in Nigeria, there is absolutely NOTHING TO SHOW?? Despite billions and trillions of dollars already pumped into that sector??”

The EDUCATIONAL SECTOR did not miss out on the showdown, as they came on board to give Mr. President a piece of their own MATTER. “See, Mr. President, you’re probably NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN for president. But you’re most likely too young to know that even before the British took over Nigeria officially through colonization, they had already established the first school in LAGOS in 1843. Do you know that?? Of course not!!! The school was known as NURSERY OF INFANT CHURCH; and was established in BADAGRY LAGOS. Then, during colonization, MORE SCHOOLS WERE BUILT.”

“It was like a competition between the missionaries and the Colonial government. The missionaries were using schools and hospitals to convert Nigerians into their faith. At a point, the missionaries had more schools and hospitals than the colonial government. Consequently, Nigeria’s education system was robust, with top notch teachers and administrators. THE STANDARD WAS SO HIGH, to the extent that, if you passed out from any Nigerian school, you didn’t need to write series of exams if you so wished to FURTHER YOUR EDUCATION IN BRITAIN. But what’s the SITUATION TODAY??”

“It's a shame to say that 177 years after the first school was established in Nigeria (1843), Nigerians are now sending their children abroad (for even primary school education). We pay very high fees for private school education up to the university level. Despite the billions of dollars being pumped into the education sector annually, it is sad to say that, government schools (which are supposed to be the best), are solely left for the poorest of the poor to send their children to. Mr. President why??”

Travelers and transporters didn’t let the educational sector to land before they jumped in with their own MATTER. “Mr. President, the first motorable road in Nigeria was constructed in 1906. It linked Oyo to Ibadan. The colonialist built and expanded Nigeria's road networks from the South to the North across the board. Nigeria had good, long-lasting motorable roads. But what happened?? After handing over good road networks to Nigeria at independence, it is a shame that 114 years after the first motorable road was constructed, Nigerian roads are nothing but POTS OF HOLES!!!”

Mr. President was beyond grateful when the interactive session ended. He would never REPEAT SUCH IDIOCY of treating the masses to an extended cyber-interactive session! But the ending of the session was not the end of the UPROAR! When there was no more room for the masses to vent their anger directly at Mr. President, social media became the NEXT BUS STOP! Complaints of all sorts were made on the internet, ranging from corruption to rape, to religion, to the alleged conveying of thousands of jihadists to the east for genocide attacks (just as in the Northwest where banditry and kidnapping is said to prevail, and the Northeast where terrorism and banditry adds to the list: 2020).

BUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA UPROAR GOT TO ITS APEX WHEN A FACEBOOK HANDLE WITH THE MONIKER, “POLITICAL NIGERIAN EVENTS” TOOK TO ITS PAGE TO MAKE AN UNBELIEVABLE EXPOSITORY POST THAT IS PURPORTED TO HAVE BEEN ORIGINALLY DIVULGED BY A CERTAIN “NUHU RIBADU.” MAY STILL FIND IT UNBELIVABLE TILL THIS VERY MOMENT. THE POST READS:

BOOTING NIGERIA

Mr. President’s tactic at salvaging Nigeria is to trace the nation’s prominent issues to their roots, and then see how to tackle them from there. This has led him to Nigeria’s BOOTING DAYS: that ELUSIVELY PURE BEGINNING; when light seemed to have DAWNED on the BLACK CONTINENT. Nigeria was INVADED and soon transformed into a POTENTIAL LONDON. Those were GLORIOUS DAYS, an era of ENJOYMENT GALORE; PARTY AFTER PARTY, well-structured by the MASTERS to favor IN-DEPTH EXPLOITATION OF THE PLACE. It looked like the event of Genesis 1:3 where God had said: “LET THERE BE LIGHT: AND THERE WAS LIGHT.” (KJV).

MISSIONARIES also stopped by with the GOOD NEWS, conquered the West in the shortest possible time; and expanded their footprint in the East and the rest of Southern Nigeria with their “POTENT, IRRESISTIBLE TONIC OF EVANGELISM AND EDUCATION” (as Chinua Achebe of blessed memory puts it). That was the light that had dawned on this part of the black continent, this GIANT OF A NATION, this great country: NIGERIA. However, those ENCHANTING DAYS WERE SHORT-LIVED.

There was FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN! Boys wanted to become men, and men no longer wished to be, should I say, “SUBJUGATED?” Women didn’t hold back their support, and the children merely RAISED THE NATION’S DUST with their innocent chase games until abruptly, somewhat unannounced, there was darkness again on the face of Nigeria! There were no more MISSIONARIES, no more MASTERS, just NIGERIANS treating NIGERIANS to a BLOODY THUG OF WAR!

That wasn’t new, though. Long before THE COMING OF MISSIONARIES AND MASTERS, there usually were such wars. But there were mere trivial violent exchanges that couldn’t at the most be counted for war. Howbeit, upon the departure of the masters, the trivial violent exchanges escalated into heated frenzies and ultimately pitched to a BLOODY CIVIL WAR! It could be that the light that had dawned on Nigeria, had been overcome by darkness. But if the HOLY BOOK anything to go by, DARKNESS NEVER OVERCOMES LIGHT. Therefore, would it be safe to say that LIGHT HAD NOT DAWNED ON NIGERIA AFTER ALL??

Light had actually dawned on Nigeria: - just not the LIGHT OF MEN; which shines in darkness without being overcome by the darkness. That’s probably why it was so quick to again give way to a FORMLESS, DESOLATE, WATER-COVERED, DARKNESS-ENGULFED Nigeria! Now, THERE’S AN UPROAR! The people want Mr. President to BRING BACK THE LIGHT, not just any light, but the LIGHT OF MEN: such that DAWNS WHEN THE SPIRIT OF GOD MOVES AND GOD SPEAKS!

-----

UPROAR from the masses is becoming deafening! “We want light! Give us light! We are tired of darkness! Give us light!” Such wild chants are fired at the naïve Mr. President who seems to be laden with nothing but GOOD INTENTIONS and a HEART FOR THE PEOPLE. Full of ZEST and love for his country. But those aren’t enough to earn him the HOT SEAT. As the Bible rightly says: “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way”: Proverbs 19:2 (NIV). If Mr. President had known, he wouldn’t have let his zeal drive him to the hot seat so soon. He would have taken time to DIG NIGERIA OUT OF THE WOODS OF HISTORY before aiming for THE VILLA.

But he’s at the Villa already. The only way forward is to DELIVER, or else, STEP ASIDE for a more competent aspirant to BURDEN HIMSELF (OR HERSELF) with that MANDATE. The people have HIGH EXPECTATIONS. They trust that Mr. President is able and capable: if not for anything, for his promise to ALIENATE POVERTY and make prosperity to become a COMMON NORMAL. “When I become president of Nigeria, SILVER AND GOLD WILL BECOME LIKE MERE ROCKS AND STONES: COMMON PLAY-THINGS FOR KIDS!” With comments like that, delivered with SUPREME CONFIDENCE, the masses couldn’t help SEEING A MESSIAH IN MR. PRESIDENT.

What they aren’t exactly aware of; is the fact that Mr. President only just got to dig Nigeria out of the woods of history, in his bid calm the storms in the country. He only just got to learn that the problem of Nigeria is as ANCIENT as the word goes. How did he even get the “Mr. president” tag without as much as knowing that “there are three maps of Nigeria, which Nigerians must have in mind, in order to grasp how the country has been BUILT OR NOT BUILT? Or how Nigeria has been MADE AND UNMADE?” HOW??

Well, Emeritus Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies, Professor KALU UKA would have Mr. President understand that the said maps bear “Fascinating Tales of Historical Dramatization.” According to him, “a nation is not just GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDARIES or POLITICAL DIVISIONS into states and local government; nor electoral wards and constituencies. Rather, a nation is PEOPLE, and peoples are united in a SOVEREIGN STATE.” That is not too hard to grasp, IS IT?

The renowned professor further made known to Mr. President that Nigeria is not the 60-YEAR-OLD COUNTRY it is purported to be (at the time of this writing: 2020). Rather, she is somewhere around a hundred and sixty (160) years old (according to the maps). To ensure that Mr. President is not left BEWILDERED BY THIS REVELATION, the Emeritus professor went even further to break things down for the lay understanding of the young, ambitious, but a quite naïve Mr. President.

The professor broke down the three maps for easy understanding in an ESSAY he titled: “DRAMA AND THEATRE AS DIGGERS OF THE FOUNDATION FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE AND NATION-BUILDING THROUGH HISTORY.” That essay was written on the occasion of the supposed “celebration” of NIGERIA-AT-50: (INDEPENDENCE DAY: 2010). In his words:

“The first map captures Nigeria from 1860: when the British annexed the “colony of Lagos” from Oba Kosoko, up unto 1906 when the first tentative steps to build a multi-national state were uncertainly taken. Then in 1906, the colony of Lagos merged with protectorate of southern Nigeria while the protectorate of northern Nigeria remained SEPARATE AND FAVORED AS A BELOVED CHILD.”

“The second map captures Nigeria from 1914 to 1945, after lord Laggard and his wife, Sarah Shaw, CONCOCTED THE NAME: NIGER-AREA. It was at that time that Nigeria saw the AMALGAMATION of NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN PROTECTORATES, producing then, TWO NIGERIA because it is/was clear, that AMALGAMATION IS NOT UNION.”

Professor Uka continued that “the objective of the colonial administration was a CONVENIENT ARRANGEMENT TO ECONOMIZE RESOURCES WHILE DERIVING UTMOST DIVIDENDS FROM A LARGE AFRICAN JUNGLE MARKET; for the Royal Niger Company consortium of traders in everything; from slaves to ivory, gold, timber, hides, and skin, BUT NOT YET OIL.”

“The last map captures Nigeria from 1945 to this present day: as it is, since the John Foncha-led excision of part of the South Eastern tip of the Cameroons, a system of loss of territory, capped in ex-president Obasanjo’s loss of Bakassi again to the Cameroons, and a shape Nigeria now has since 1963 when the SO-CALLED REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION WAS ADOPTED.”

“Meanwhile, in 1922, there was the HUGH CLIFFORD CONSTITUTION in which, as Governor-General, he VIEWED NIGERIA AS A “COLLECTION OF INDEPENDENT NATIVE STATES that are SEPARATED from one another by great distances, differences of history, traditions, plus ethnological, racial, tribal, political, social, and religious barriers”: a myopic perception of Nigeria.”

Gratefully, Mr. President has uncovered this MYOPIC PERCEPTION and a few more to be THE ROOTS of Nigeria’s problems. As a next move, he reaches out to the masses to call all attention to these sad realities. Mr. President has called. Many have heard. But only a few have chosen to give him LISTENING EARS. A GREAT NUMBER of his hearers don’t give a damn about LISTENING! They couldn’t care less about ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE! All they want is for Mr. President to [MAGICALLY] SHINE THE LIGHT on Nigeria and bring forth the NEW ENVISIONED DAYS OF BLISS UNTOLD!

A GREATER NUMBER of his hearers seem to GET HIS MESSAGE. They get a crystal clear picture of things. They understand the extent of the damage, the loopholes, the AUDIO DEMOCRACY, and the CORRUPT FOUNDATION of the nation (in the first place). But this clarity of vision tends to be their UNDOING, sadly. They cannot possibly ENVISION A FIXING of the DIRE NIGERIAN DAMAGE! So they advise thus: “Mr. President, having seen and gotten acquainted with the SITUATION OF THINGS IN NIGERIA, we can only advise that you TAKE A WALK from politics IF YOU WON’T BEND. The entire system is crooked. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!”

Continuing to advise, they add: “the PEOPLE THAT MATTER will not even let you alter things for the exclusive good of the Nigerian people; your good intentions notwithstanding. For your own good, drop the idea. LEAVE MATTER FOR MATTHIAS! And if you manage to find yourself on that seat, be kind enough to SERVE YOURSELF FIRST! And then YOUR FAMILY! NO GO DO PASS YOURSELF! This MESSIAH COMPLEX of yours will only land you in DEEP SHIT! But erm, please remember us in your paradise oh. No position is too small. We will manage anything: S.A, P.A, even SYCOPHANT!”

Now, the problem isn’t that a GREAT NUMBER of his hearers brush him aside; nor that a GREATER NUMBER repel him with NEGATIVE MINDEDNESS and MEDIOCRITY. His major problem stems from the frustration that comes with seeing that the MAJORITY of his SHOULD-BE HEARERS are beyond reach! How does he get them to REASON WITH HIM when he can’t even get across to them? How does he get them acquainted with REAL FACTS about Nigeria, not BASELESS PROPAGANDAS??

-----

“WINTER IS COMING,” declares Mr. President. “The ARMY OF THE UNDEAD will match upon THE LIVING! All the SEVEN KINGDOMS must put aside their differences and get set to face their common enemy: THE UNDEAD. If the KINGS and LORDS of the SEVEN KINGDOMS continue seeking allies between themselves to fight themselves, they will be drowning in a POOL OF THEIR OWN BLOOD when THE UNDEAD matches on them to ANNIHILATE ALL HUMANITY. We have to STICK TOGETHER! The last thing we need right now is DIVISION, except we ALL WANT TO DIE! You hear me??”

Such CHARMING SPEECH by Mr. President, isn’t it? At this point, one could be tempted to call him “JON SNOW: (the LORD COMMANDER of the NIGHT’S WATCH).” Do you know JON SNOW? He’s a CHARMER! Some sort of a MESSIAH! Mr. President SEEMS TO FANCY JON SNOW A LOT! Jon Snow is a FICTIONAL CHARACTER from the HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTER: “GAME OF THRONES.”

In the movie, he is the supposed the BASTARD SON of NED STARK. Ned Stark happens to be the WARDEN OF THE NORTH and PROTECTOR OF THE REALM. The NORTH consists of the Northern-half of the SEVEN KINGDOMS and is ruled by HOUSE STARK (THE HOUSE OF NED STARK). They RULE FROM THEIR CASTLE at a place called WINTERFELL.

The North is SPARSELY POPULATED. But it is nearly as big as the other SIX KINGDOMS combined, which puts it in a position where it stands SUPERIOR to the other kingdoms, except KING’S LANDING. You know why? Because KING’S LANDING is the CAPITAL of the kingdoms, just like the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in NIGERIA. So, NED STARK, who rules the NORTH, is somewhat superior to all other rulers except the KING (who RULES ENTIRELY over everyone in the kingdoms).

In essence, the POWER STRUCTURE put NED STARK in a position where he’s the second most powerful ruler. At some point, he was made HAND OF THE KING (a sort of VICE PRESIDENT). JON SNOW was this man’s son; or BASTARD SON, as he was usually ridiculously aliased. Time will fail me to go into the DETAILS OF HIS BIRTH. But his complicated identity drove him to the NIGHT’S WATCH (a place for BROKEN PEOPLE), and he somehow saw himself becoming the NUMBER ONE MAN there: the LORD COMMANDER of the NIGHT’S WATCH (though being a fighter, he’d been forced to serve as STEWARD).

The NIGHT’S WATCH is THE WALL that SHIELDS the seven kingdoms from the BLACK HORRORS on the other side: “……THE UNDEAD!” The seven kingdoms were at war on one side of the wall, while on the other side, THE UNDEAD were on the verge of MATCHING ON the seven kingdoms to WIPE OUT ALL THE LIVING and put an end to HUMANITY. It became JON SNOW’S SELF-IMPOSED ESSENTIAL ASSIGNMENT to get the WARRING KINGDOMS to cease swinging swords at each other, and rather stand together to face the ARMY OF THE UNDEAD, who outnumbered them 10 to 1.

He actually succeeded in SUSPENDING THE WAR (AFTER MULTITUDES HAD FALLEN BY THE SWORD ALREADY). He succeeded in getting the armies of the kingdoms to MARCH TOGETHER AGAINST THE UNDEAD (after being to hell and back a million times). THE UNDEAD were ultimately defeated, thanks to JON SNOW’s supposed sister, ARYA STACK (youngest daughter of NED STACK). Arya put a knife made of DRAGON GLASS in the heart of the NIGHT KING (the leader of the army of the UNDEAD) and that was it. The NIGHT KING is the SOURCE OF LIFE for the UNDEAD. So, once he was killed, IT WAS OVER FOR THE UNDEAD! Jon Snow PAVED THE WAY for that defeat. But that’s not the MAIN REASON I said that one could be tempted to call Mr. President “Jon Snow.”

You see, while APPEALING TO THE REASONING of kings/queens of the kingdoms to stop the war, Jon Snow said things like: “WINTER IS COMING! The ARMY OF THE UNDEAD will match upon THE LIVING. All the SEVEN KINGDOMS must put aside their differences and get set to face their common enemy: THE UNDEAD.” In using that same speech to try to APPEAL TO THE REASONING OF NIGERIANS, Mr. President somewhat seemed like a HERO in the order of JON SNOW. One could ACTUALLY BE TEMPTED to call him Jon Snow AT THAT POINT. But that could only happen at that point, not at this very point. At this point, please do well not to call him JON SNOW. EE GET WHY!

Besides Jon Snow’s COMPLICATED IDENTITY which led him to JOIN THE NIGHT’S WATCH, he swore THE NIGHT’S WATCH OATH upon joining that MILITARY ORDER. HE SWORE A STRONG OATH; one Mr. President WOULD NOT SWEAR [ENTIRELY]! That is the concern here! That oath had Jon Snow MAKING HEAVY-DUTY PRONOUNCEMENTS! VERY HEAVY-DUTY PRONOUNCEMENTS! Like:

“NIGHT GATHERS, AND NOW MY WATCH BEGINS. IT SHALL NOT END UNTIL MY DEATH. I SHALL TAKE NO WIFE, HOLD NO LANDS, FATHER NO CHILDREN. I SHALL WEAR NO CROWNS AND WIN NO GLORY. I SHALL LIVE AND DIE AT MY POST. I AM THE SWORD IN THE DARKNESS. I AM THE WATCHER ON THE WALLS. I AM THE SHIELD THAT GUARDS THE REALMS OF MEN. I PLEDGE MY LIFE AND HONOR TO THE NIGHT’S WATCH, FOR THIS NIGHT, AND ALL THE NIGHTS TO COME.”

No doubt, Mr. President will just have to swear an OATH OF OFFICE upon OFFICIALLY ASSUMING OFFICE AS PRESIDENT. But you see, the OATH OF OFFICE of the president of Nigeria has nothing to do with taking no WIVES, holding no LANDS, fathering no CHILDREN, wearing no CROWNS, winning no GLORY, and living/dying at DUTY POST. Mr. President can’t even imagine a life with such restrictions, not to mention living that life. That is why he can’t exactly be called to JON SNOW.

However, the PART OF THAT OATH that Mr. President is FULLY CONVICTED BY, is the part that says: “I AM THE SWORD IN THE DARKNESS. I AM THE WATCHER ON THE WALLS. I AM THE SHIELD THAT GUARDS THE REALMS OF MEN. I PLEDGE MY LIFE AND HONOR TO THE NIGHT’S WATCH, FOR THIS NIGHT, AND ALL THE NIGHTS TO COME.”

Maybe the CHARACTER OF JON SNOW does not entirely REFLECT THE PERSON OF MR. PRESIDENT. But there’s SOMEONE ELSE in that movie WHOSE CHARACTER LARGELY REFLECTS the person of Mr. President. His name is TYRION LANNISTER: AN INGENIOUS MAN, A READER, LEADER, DIPLOMATIC, INCREDIBLY INTELLIGENT, and able to WORK (TALK) HIS WAY OUT OF MOST MYSTERIES AND CHALLENGES.

In the event where his COLORFUL ELOQUENCE fails to redeem him from challenges and mysterious situations, he still always has the LAST LAUGH - with his CUTTING WIT. Tyrion lives life to the FULLEST, just like Mr. President. He tries to be good (despite his unredeemable family), just as Mr. President tries to be good (despite his seemingly unredeemable country, Nigeria). However, Tyrion’s unredeemable family makes it IMPOSSIBLE for him to be WHOLLY GOOD.

Hence, he does have moments where he dips into the dark side. We can only pray that NIGERIA’S SITUATION doesn’t see Mr. President equally dipping into the dark side, just like his favorite Tyrion: a DWARF. Oh, did I mention that Tyrion is a DWARF? But that’s not THE REAL BIG DEAL! The real big deal is that he is the MOST FAMOUS DWARF IN THE WORLD! (you can try asking Google). There will be a lot more to say about this DWARF in the latter part of this essay. Just STAY ON WITH ME!

If you watch GAME OF THRONES, you will notice that the PROMINENT THEME which endures all through the movie, is that of UPROAR (those who’ve watched can attest). It has EIGHT seasons. There was CALM in SEASON ONE. That calm vanished in SEASON TWO, only to return in SEASON EIGHT (the last season). But, until SEASON EIGHT when CALM RETURNED, there was only one prevailing element: UPROAR! UPROAR! UPROAR! just as it is; in NIGERIA RIGHT NOW!

INTRODUCTION

If Nigeria is to again amount to anything praiseworthy, there’s got to be a “rebooting.” If it wasn’t so, Senator Dino, in the absoluteness of his person, wouldn’t publicly stress the need for it. Although this need had become glaring enough for even the blind to see, such VALIDATIONS by the likes of Dino, I would say, are perfect CASE STUDIES for analysis; such as TREATED IN THIS PIECE. Perhaps; at the end of this piece, that GREAT NEED will become EVEN MORE GLARING THAN EVER!

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Mr. President has nothing but good intentions. It is very clear from his doings. All he wants is to CREATE A REPLICA of the era of biblical King Solomon, under whose reign - SILVER AND GOLD BECAME LIKE MERE ROCKS AND STONES: (2ND CHRONICLES 1:15). Imagine NIGERIAN CHILDREN throwing silver and gold (rocks and stones) at each other for play. As in, what many would readily GIVE THEIR LIVES FOR, becoming mere play-toys in the HANDS OF CHILDREN?

Fantasy! Fantasy! many would say! But this is actually Mr. President’s goal, his mission, his purpose: to establish heavenly bliss in the land - on the wings of LEADERSHIP. It just so happens that the situation he comes to a face-off with; is the kind he is LEAST PREPARED TO TACKLE. The country is in gloom: a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. She is formless and desolate, everything covered by a raging ocean - engulfed in TOTAL DARKNESS!

Given the gloomy blackness, Mr. President can’t seem to find his way around. Where does he start fixing things from? Everything is in a mess! Everywhere is in shambles! It is hopeless! The place is beyond repair! UPROAR from the masses isn’t exactly helping. Pressure from accrued failures by past governments is already too much for him! Adding an uproar is surely going to drive him nuts! He doesn’t know where to turn, who to call, how to start, or what to do. He is in a dilemma, more like caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. How did we (Nigeria) even get here, please??

Nigeria is a country lavishly laden with MILK and HONEY, richly adorned with the GREENEST OF PASTURES, aesthetically decorated with the FINERIES OF NATURE, blessed with a variety of natural and human resources, with bunches of talented folks, intellectuals, creatives, you name them! But even with such abundance and splendor, there seems to be nothing to write home about this OVERLY OBVIOUS GREENLAND, and Mr. President is now CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE of it all.

Things had moved from good to bad; and then to worse. They moved again from worse to “attempted good,” to bad again, and finally to WORST! Mr. President envisions moving things BACK TO GOOD, TO BETTER, TO BEST. You see, it is very okay to LAUGH AT THIS POINT. I mean, he must really think of himself as some sort of a SUPERHERO; or a GENIUS perhaps. Or maybe he sees a lot of HOLLYWOOD MOVIES; that “GAME OF THRONES” kind of thing. YOU KNOW, RIGHT??

But then, UPROAR from the masses isn’t the “TWITTER BASHING” kind of thing! It isn’t some fictionalized artwork or some RANDOM RANTINGS on the internet. It is UPROAR INDEED! The streets are filled with RIDE-OR-DIEs: those who totally disagree that LIVING DOGS ARE BETTER THAN DEAD LIONS! I mean those who would rather be LIONS, whether living or dead! Mr. President just has to perform, or things will just have to GO SOUTH! Thankfully, he is a man of PEACE.

He would rather tow the path of diplomacy, to see how to attend to the conflicting matters of the country without leaving the masses dissatisfied in any way. He is all set to leverage his leadership prowess to pilot the affairs of Nigeria. It takes great inherent leadership abilities to run the affairs of a country, not to mention a country like Nigeria. But Mr. president is CONFIDENT IN HIS ABILITIES. He is confident that he can REBOOT NIGERIA like Senator Dino strongly suggests.

His eager attempt at doing so has seen him revisiting NIGERIA’S BOOTING DAYS. Like they say: “SOLVING A PROBLEM BECOMES EASY WHEN THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM IS KNOWN.” This is Mr. President’s APPROACH at REBOOTING Nigeria: to seek out the roots of PREVAILING ISSUES, devise means of tackling them from that root, and consequently rebooting Nigeria (while at the same time managing a raging masses, fuming with TOXIC DESPERATENESS for the dawning of a NEW NIGERIA).

ABSTRACT

“You can ASPIRE FOR PRESIDENT. But please, POSTPONE YOUR CAMPAIGN till after 2019 election.” Those were the words of Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari; upon his signing of the “NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN” bill into law in 2018: one of the BEST THINGS to have HAPPENED TO NIGERIA. Those words were uttered during a brief remark after his signing of the bill - and was directed to representatives of YOUNG PERSONS from the 36 states, including ABUJA.

I guess that we, the youngsters, have MR. PRESIDENT to thank for the signing of that bill into law, thus opening POLITICAL DOORS unto us - come 2023 upward. You and I now have the chance to slide ourselves into the CORRIDORS OF POWER and take shots at BETTERING THE NIGERIAN STATE - rather than merely TONGUE-LASHING past and present leaders for OBVIOUS FAILINGS: - such that former Nigerian lawmaker, DINO MALAYE, took online to LAMENT OVER, saying;

“EVERYONE WHO HELD, AND IS HOLDING ANY POLITICAL OFFICE IN NIGERIA, WHETHER ELECTIVE OR APPOINTED, INCLUDING ME, HAS FAILED! WE SOLD CRUDE OIL FOR 64 YEARS. BUT WE COULDN’T FEED OUR CITIZENS FOR JUST TWO WEEKS OF [CORONA VIRUS] LOCKDOWN. WELL, THE GOD OF THE POOR WILL JUDGE US ALL. IT IS TIME TO REBOOT.”

He said so - in reaction to the woeful effects of COVID-19 in Nigeria, and I couldn’t agree more with his GOOD CONSCIENCE. That comment, to a large extent, reflects the present state of Nigeria in its entirety, as well as paints pictures of possible roles played by variety of a SELECT FEW; to arrive at that eyesore state. If only Dino had ELABORATED on his comment, then there would have been a lot more to tell. But one very INVALUABLE PHRASE to consider from his words would be the part he said; “IT IS TIME TO REBOOT.” Indeed, if there’s only one thing Nigeria needs, it is absolute, severe, extreme REBOOTING.

If you’re familiar with computing terms, you understand clearly what it means to REBOOT a computer, what it means to HIBERNATE a computer, what it means to put a computer to SLEEP MODE, and what it means to BOOT a computer. Sleep mode is a power-sparing state that computers can enter when NOT IN USE. But computers usually WAKE from sleep mode through touching a key, clicking the mouse, or pressing the power button - to resume from WHERE THEY STOPPED.

To “hibernate” implies powering down a computer while retaining its state. Upon hibernation, the computer saves the contents of its random access memory (RAM) to a hard disk. When it resumes, it is exactly as it was before entering hibernation; - resuming its work from where it stopped. SLEEP MODE and HIBERNATION only rest computers for a while before they resume working from where they stopped. But when it comes to REBOOTING, it’s a DIFFERENT BALL GAME ENTIRELY!

Rebooting reloads the ENTIRE OPERATING SYSTEM of a computer: it starts the computer up again. To BOOT (BOOTING) is to START A COMPUTER'S OPERATING SYSTEM. Therefore, REBOOTING is to start it for a second time, a third time, even a fourth time, and so on. Ultimately, rebooting allows the computer to RESTART and GET BACK TO WORKING NORMALLY (not merely resting and resuming from where it stopped). More so, after a CRASH, a computer is useless until REBOOTED.

So, if what Nigeria needs is a “rebooting,” it, therefore, supposes that Nigeria has crashed beyond remedy, and needs to be RESTARTED; in order for her to go back to WORKING NORMALLY. Senator Dino is positive that THIS IS WHAT NIGERIA NEEDS. “…IT IS TIME TO REBOOT” (a fresh start), he says. But then, HASN’T NIGERIA HAD SEVERAL FRESH STARTS FROM “INDEPENDENCE?”

What about those steady transitions of power from leader to ruler; to leader to ruler? Weren’t they FRESH STARTS? Or, aren’t FRESH STARTS supposed to be synonymous with REBOOTING? Perhaps Dino means to say that what Nigeria needs is a REAL REBOOTING (an actual fresh start) since all previous rebooting (former supposed fresh starts) weren’t fresh starts after all. They were mere HIBERNATIONS and SLEEP MODES: one administration putting Nigeria to rest after years of MILKING HER SILLY, another administration emerging quickly to RESUME THE EVIL - with reckless abandon. HELL IS REAL!

Just like Dino, Nigerians cry of having had enough HIBERNATIONS and SLEEP MODES! An ACTUAL FRESH START is what everyone now yearns for: a REAL REBOOTING. But this tends to be FARFETCHED. At the same time, it seems VERY HANDY; - just that a vast majority tend to deem it more farfetched than handy (understandably). The world will no doubt end someday, and all the suffering and cheating and oppression will be no more! But how near is that end?? And if that end so happens to tarry, SHALL WE KEEP ON LIVING THIS WAY?? Shall we keep on SUFFERING?? STARVING?? CRYING?? DYING?? WAILING?? SHALL WE KEEP ON……??

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And so commenced UPROAR 2023: echoes of dissatisfaction from a SLIGHTED FIRE-BREATHING MASSES who now want to be heard or GO BANANAS!!! After all, how much worse can it get?? If diplomacy has failed, perhaps we should consider other options!!! Fighting maybe: another long-drawn-out war, bla-bla-bla... “We don tire!!! Our mumu don do!!! We die here!!!” Such brave words are spewed by these masses, all HIGHLY FLAMED-UP in readiness to FORCE-REBOOT Nigeria if efforts at traditionally courting the attention of “SUPERIOR CITIZENS” happen to fail again. I guess it’s high time ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!

The good in all these is that MR. PRESIDENT is given to diplomacy, otherwise, these “FIRE-BREATHING MASSES” may have learned the hard way to never HAVE MORE COURAGE THAN SENSE, especially in these LAST DAYS. God so kind, Mr. President is not a MAN OF WAR, not the LION, not a FIGHT, nor the INDABOSKI BAHOSE. Rather, he is a MAN OF PEACE, a man of LOVE, a LAMB, and a FELLOW NIGERIAN. That is why there could be a dialogue between PEOPLE and STATE (i.e. “governed” and “governor”), a fair marriage of ELITES and MASSES: a WELL-PACKAGED DEMOCRACY!!!

THIS IS A NOVELIZED EXPOSITORY ESSAY ON LEADERSHIP FAILINGS IN NIGERIA, ON THE “NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN” BILL, ON THE NIGERIAN STATE AS A WHOLE, AND ON THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE NIGERIAN ARMED FORCES: “MR. PRESIDENT.”

CONCLUSION

They that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed but abides forever. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint; their paths are as a shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day. Keep that in mind. And in your days of adversity, remember that weeping may endure for a night; but joy comes in the morning. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.

All you need do is keep pressing, press hard. I trust that by now you already know what role the higher power plays in all this; so I need not reiterate on this whole ESSAY. The IMAGERY herein may relatively reflect your immediate reality on THIS SIDE, as well as give you ideas of what could be your immediate reality on the OTHER SIDE. Whatever angle it approaches you from, the point is that IT CALLS YOUR ATTENTION TO SOMETHING; something serious, something you might want to GIVE ATTENTION TO. On the flip side, this may only have been a GOOD READ. Good all the same.

But if you find anything about this imagery relative, this piece may just have just been a ROADMAP for you! You never can tell. Aristotle would have you understand that “ALL MEN BY NATURE DESIRE TO KNOW.” Channel your natural QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE in this direction too. See what you can dig up. I mean, I may only have succeeded in scratching the surface here. You never know what your findings might be. ENOUGH SAID!

I, therefore, draw the curtains on this note: the BAD SITUATIONS you find yourself in life may not necessarily be intended for your suffering; as you may like to think sometimes. It could be that you're being afforded a story to tell, a lesson to teach, a sermon to preach, etc. Rather than just being told/taught/given that story/lesson/sermon to relay to the world (whatever that world might be for you), you're made to go through it firsthand: a FIRST CLASS experience.

That EXPERIENCE counts for the DEPTH that'll someday hold the world SPELLBOUND to your ideas, works, creations, etc. Cherish that experience: you'll have to give account of it someday, whether to a big audience or just a small circle. That account has to be RICH, DEEP, RELATABLE enough, etc., to cheer, edify, and strengthen others that may at the time be plagued with BAD SITUATIONS. That ACCOUNT has to be HELPFUL, an account like this one: MY ACCOUNT.

Jezuzboi©

THE FIRST WALL

The first wall is the highest, widest, and largest of all the walls. It’s the firmest, strongest, most deeply rooted, DESIGNED TO LET NO ONE GET PAST IT. It is monstrous, devilish, exuding an evil aura from its rough surface. It has thorns littered all over, making it hard to make contact with it. When one gets really close, it becomes like an actual mountain, not just a wall that bears the resemblance of a mountain. There’s seemingly no way through it. DEAD END!

It is such a gigantic wall, responsible for the truncation of many destinies, the doom of many souls, the tearing apart of many families, the mediocrity of many persons, the destruction of many lives. It is usually a collision with this wall that awakens people’s consciousness to the REALITY OF THE OTHER SIDE. Upon that collision, one certainly needs to GET PAST that wall if he/she MUST AMOUNT TO ANYTHING ON THIS SIDE. But hey, that’s only THE BEGINNING.

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OTHER WALLS

Other walls serve as backups: the first is backed up by the second, the second is backed up by the third, and so on. But that doesn’t make them any less limiting! In fact, subsequent walls are designed to usually want to prove their worth by stopping what previous walls could not stop. So, if you manage to get past the first wall, the second is more likely to GIVE YOU A HARD RUN! If you get past the second, the third is more likely there to make sure you GO NO FURTHER!

If you make it through the third, you still have the fourth to battle with, then the fifth, sixth, and so on. There are no soft spots on these walls for you to break your way through. No openings, no tunnels, no form of linkage of one side of the wall to the other. IT’S A REAL DEAD END. It is even pointless to think about getting past the other walls when it is almost impossible to get past the first. Thankfully, it is only ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to get past it, not IMPOSSIBLE!

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YOU (ON THIS SIDE)

You know that point in life where it seems like the heavens are closed over you? where nothing seems to be working? where it’s more like “you against the world?” where you feel like a ghost among the living? or buried alive? I’m talking about that point where nothing makes sense anymore; where making a headway becomes a myth to you but very much a reality to everyone else: that point where everything goes anticlockwise and you’re close to GOING NUTS!

The near-success syndromes, failures, efforts in futility, complications here and there, the reoccurrences, confusion, a thousand problems with no handy solutions, no helper(s), you keep going down with no one to pull you up. You keep on falling, no one can hear you calling. You’re the least favored, unqualified for anything, hardly noticed for good, etc. Desperation sets in; you start to count on the exaggerations of motivational speakers to be your SAVING GRACE!

You begin to get familiar with phrases like: “winners never quit, and quitters never win.” Or like: “believe in yourself enough to never give up on you!” Or “what you don’t stop will stop you.” There are so many of them. These words have a way of keeping you on your feet as you strive to rise above your current crises. Determination, perseverance, optimism, positive-mindedness, affirmative confessions, etc., become the key components that define your existence.

All these happen on this side, very visible to observers, most of which can’t exactly fathom the events of your life at that point. Nevertheless, they watch out for what unfolds. You could even be written off on account of the doom that seems to have swallowed you up. What the eye sees when they behold you is a struggler, a failure in the making, a wounded Lazarus that’s only deserving of crumbs from the rich man’s table. What you’ve become is simple: INCONSEQUENTIAL.

You can blame this on your background, your state, country, and even the world. You can blame people; blame yourself or whatever conceivable factors. Oh yes, blames may tend to lighten you up a bit and all, but it gets nowhere close to ridding you of your demons. You know why? because all measures employed to tackle the problem centers on this side. The disorder on this side is only a CONSEQUENCE of a COLLISION; a terrible collision; on THE OTHER SIDE.

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YOU (ON THE OTHER SIDE)

While that is happening on this side, there you are on the other side, face against the infinitely high, wide, mountain-wall (the first). You have no idea what it is and why it is there. All you know is that you’re supposed to be on a journey. You can’t seem to understand how your path crossed the mountain-wall. You can’t even seem to figure out how to get past it. Is it even possible to get past it? How? You are not exactly aware of what is going on. It’s all DREAMY to you.

Events that pertain to this side are very clear to you. I mean, it’s not hard to tell when you’re fast slipping into a sphere of losers. If this fact seems to elude your realization, many around you will bring it to your notice. But it’s not the same with events that pertain to the other side. You can spend a lifetime without coming to the awareness of GOINGS on the other side, or that it calls the shots for this side. It is this ignorance that at times accounts for the ruin of many souls.

To be at par with goings on the other side, there has to be a connection between you on this side and you on the other side. That you journey simultaneously on both sides doesn’t imply that there’s absolute harmony between you on both sides. The simultaneous journey is more of a SUPERNATURAL ORDER. Whether or not there’s a connection between you on both sides, you journey on. But you see the connection part? It’s not exactly ORDERED. It is WORKED OUT!

The means by which this connection is brought about are diverse. Could be the FAST-LANE APPROACH; could be the NARROW PATH APPROACH. Both have their implications, demands, sacrifices, benefits, etc. While one is satisfyingly fast, seemingly easy, and elusively detrimental, the other is considerably slow, somewhat difficult, but detriment-free. Depending on what rocks your boat, you could embrace any of these means to aid a connection between you on this side and you on the other side. Only then can you stand a chance with the mountain-walls: YOUR ADVERSITY!

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ADVERSITY

“Life is full of ups and downs”, so they say. You are at a point where you have rephrased that statement thus: “life is full of downs and downs.” This is clearly beyond you. If you must GO FURTHER, you most certainly need the aiding of a HIGHER POWER: a power that connects you on both sides, AFFORDING YOU ON THIS SIDE AN INSIGHT INTO GOINGS ON THE OTHER SIDE that account for your distressing experiences on this side. A HEADWAY AT LAST?

Imagine a nightmare of you, aimlessly searching for a possible path through high monstrous walls, endless in length and breadth? That’s you on this side connecting with you on the other side; catching a glimpse of the root of the prevailing issues on this side. Little by little, you become more aware of your situation, you get a full picture of the problem: that things are quite bad, much worse than you thought they were. Far WORSE. In fact, the WORST OF ALL!

With the aid of higher powers, you become more enlightened, gaining valuable knowledge of the other side and your reality therein: its blessedness and your chances to share in that blessedness, its damnations and your vulnerability to it. Its wealth, riches, glory, etc., all of which you stand a great chance with. Then its pit holes, counter-forces, and several anguishes, all of which you are vulnerable to. In the event of adversities, it’s only a case of ANGUISHES – LIKE YOURS.

As your enlightenment process continues, you learn how to maneuver along successfully: how to face the terror that comes by night, or the arrows that fly by day, or the mountain-walls! You learn how to create cracks on the walls with mere words, acts, etc., how to meander through the thorns by following a BLUEPRINT of that realm, which ultimately compromises the wall, eventually resulting in its total collapse. YOU SEE HOW ENLIGHTENED YOU HAVE BECOME?

But make no mistake to think it’s an “easy come easy go” affair where you just connect to the you on the other side and simply take down devilish walls of such magnitude. Depending on the gravity of your allotted appointment on this side, it could take much or less learning, much or less seeking, much or less digging, perseverance, consistency, and much or less of everything that doesn’t come cheap! (though very much within reach; all thanks to HIGHER POWER).

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THE HIGHER POWER

Though the 5th century Greeks did not regard the gods as all-powerful, they did believe that the gods would protect them and reveal the future. As a result, annual festivals were held in Greek cities to honor those gods. That was an acknowledgment of the supremacy of higher powers. All over the world, different faiths have emerged, their sole aim being to bridge the gap between you and the higher powers, between you on this side and you on the other side.

Different diabolical means have also emerged to supposedly serve the same purpose. When the events of your life lead you to seek aid from a higher power, it beholds on you to cling onto one of these FAITHS or MEANS. Your choice here could depend on how informed you are (even in your ignorance), your exposure, association, and circumstances; whether unforeseen or preordained. This is usually a crossroad: you either climb up the ladder or go down the drain.

Adversities stare you right in the face! The clock is ticking! You’re RUNNING LATE IN LIFE! There’s no time for frivolities, religiosity, lackadaisicalness, and dulling. “If you’re going to shoot, shoot! don’t talk!” And “whatever is worth doing; is worth doing well.” Going for the kill is worth doing. It is your lot on earth. But the mountain-walls wouldn’t let you; except you’re aided by a higher power, a potent One, with track records: capable of melting mountains like wax, dividing seas, cutting bars of iron in asunder! etc. You know powers like that? Or would you have me point you to one?

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DEFEAT

The sad part is that many people monkey around, sitting on the fence, neither here nor there. Such an approach only keeps the you on this side perpetually alienated to the you on the other side. On this side, you suffer for what you can’t explain. On the other side, you wander about aimlessly. Mere determination can’t seem to pave a path for you. You go back and forth, tossed here and there, no headway. It gets tiring. At a point, you THROW IN THE TOWEL. It is finished!

You accept mediocrity, pettiness, last place, and all forms of SMALLNESS. You become an object of ridicule, to only serve as a lesson to others. Meanwhile, on the other side, you have conceded to the wall, wandering aimlessly about it and eventually pitching a tent right there before it. You have been conquered by the wall, conquered by whatever factors birthed the walls, conquered by WHOEVER may have been responsible for the walls; be it enemies, haters, “village people”, family, friends, the devil himself, or EVEN YOU! Lol. You really didn’t think it could be YOU?

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VICTORY

Depending on what FAITH or MEANS you employ to tackle your adversity, total victory (or what looks like victory) could be secured. TOTAL VICTORY is when you break through the first wall, break through the second wall, and keep breaking through subsequent walls until you get to the source of those light rays that beamed across the first wall, calling strongly to its source. Finally tracking it down only means you made it across the walls, aided by a higher power.

On the flip side, WHAT LOOKS LIKE VICTORY is not TOTAL VICTORY. It is a TEMPORARY VICTORY. Perhaps you had employed a WEAK MEANS to tackle your adversity; so you get a HALF BAKED VICTORY. You will still have to give it another shot if you’re aiming for TOTAL VICTORY. That’s a merry-go-round; if you ask me. Why not go for the big kill at once? I don’t know how rich you are in knowledge of higher powers and their potency. But here’s one I know: JESUS!

Remember the WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD in the bible? On THIS SIDE, she was doomed health-wise. On THE OTHER SIDE, one can’t really tell what occurred; perhaps MOUNTAIN-WALLS she couldn’t get through. But having somehow learned of the REALITY OF THE OTHER SIDE (and her possible reality therein), most certainly from her hearings about this JESUS and His doings/sayings, she took bold steps towards employing that higher power to combat her adversity. Hers was a case of “instant turnaround” as you already know. Now, that’s HIGHER POWER!

You know about JOSEPH, son of JACOB, who was gifted a coat of MANY COLORS by his dad – a thing that didn’t go down well with his brothers. The lad connected with the HIM ON THE OTHER SIDE early enough to sight his DESTINED GLORY. But his own brothers became MOUNTAIN-WALLS on his way. He was stuck for thirteen years, keeping in contact with the “him on the other side,” by staying in touch with this higher power, this JESUS, this GOD! Things turned around after thirteen years of strong adversity, and the victory he secured STILL BEAMS OF GLORY TILL THIS DAY.

Jesus Himself, when it seemed like mankind had lost out on how to secure total victory over their ultimate adversity (the devil), also faced adversity in his bid to afford mankind that victory. That victory could only come by Him: a higher power: THE HIGHEST POWER. Even his own adversity; THE HIGHEST ADVERSITY, couldn’t stop Him because the existence of the so-called “highest adversity” depends on this Jesus: this highest power. How strong is your adversity?

Remember the 67-year-old man at the beginning who couldn’t get a job after submitting 365 applications? Also remember the 35-year-old demon possessed lady who couldn’t attract men despite her beauty? If not for this JESUS, that would have been their doom. As promised, here’s a brief elaboration of their story: HOW THEY CONQUERED.

After years of back-and-forth, they came to the consciousness of THE OTHER SIDE, how it is responsible for their calamity on THIS SIDE. They sought more enlightenment about such things and got to learn of how “the kingdom of God suffereth violence, and how the violent takes it by force.” So they launched into WARFARE! To be rest assured of victory, they sought the aid of a higher power, the highest power: Jesus. That’s how they stood a chance with victory.

As they engaged warfare on this side, several pictures can be painted of what may have happened on the other side. It could be that they were determinedly throwing hard fearless punches at the walls, breaking their way through, one after another. They could have opted to climb over the walls one after the other. It could have been anything at all. But you know what was overly obvious? It was THEIR ACTIVITIES ON THIS SIDE: lengthy prayers, fasting, sacrifices, commitment to the higher power, commitment to the course of that power: FAITH, etc. At the end, they came out victorious, with VALID STORIES TO TELL. Stories that touch the heart, stories that uplift the soul, that enlighten, edify.

So, as you also draw strength from this power, you gather the right weapons with which to crack down the monstrous walls. You load up your rifle in readiness to take headshots at it. You OBSERVE THE WAYS, NORMS, and COURSES of this highest power, thus getting its FULL BACKING. Then it’s only a matter of time before the walls come crashing like humpty-dumpty until the glory comes into sight. The process may have been more like A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM. It may also have been otherwise. But does that really matter? It’s freedom at last, glory, victory, TOTAL VICTORY.

ABSTRACT

This ESSAY attempts to deeply explore RICHES and its DIVERSE CUSTODIANS. We’re all familiar with the much-loved biblical maxim that “money answers all things” - which ultimately projects financial freedom as being next to nothing when it comes to this natural world of ours. So it becomes understandable when folks get dead-hooked in various professions, fields of endeavor, passions, hustles, and whatnot; just to SECURE THE BAG and amass GREAT RICHES.

The EXTOLMENT that comes with such financial establishment sparks sensations that are quite uncommon among TOMs, DICKs, and HARRYs. It takes more than being a BUSY BODY to amass riches that can provoke such SUPER GLORY; calling the GLOBAL VILLAGE’s attention to ITS CARRIERS. The earth indeed has its fill of MONEYBAGS. But filling the earth, even more, is the alarming number of wanna-be moneybags: you?? them… I, MOST DEFINITELY!

But you see, there’s “Riches” and there are RICHES. There’s “Wealth” and there’s WEALTH. There’s “Glory” and there’s GLORY. They all count for FORTUNE. Even so, there’s “Fortune” and there’s FORTUNE. While many LOWER CLASS
POPULATIONS would gladly settle and die at the MIDDLE-CLASS cadre if opportune, there are those who consider the UPPER CLASS their BIRTHRIGHT; and they want nothing less - even those from the HUMBLEST OF BACKGROUNDS.

Those breed launch into the earth to undertake diverse adventures as means of acquiring these coveted riches and its glorification thereof. As is typical with adventure games, you keep playing, moving from level to level. The slightest of mistakes can end the game. You have to attain mastery of the game through hard diligent learning and recurrent losses. The more you master it, the more you manage to meander across levels - and the closer you get to WINNING.

But real-life adventures take quite a different turn of events. While the course of adventure in games is a one-way process, that of real-life adventure does not stop at being a two-way process: it goes further to be a three-way process, four-way process; as the spirit leads. So, those wanna-bes disperse off on a wealth hunt with great GUSTO, determined to never look back until the price is secured: the MONEY, FAME, POWER, BIG BOY STATUS – AT WHATEVER COST!

Imagine the feeling that comes with being the CENTER OF ATTRACTION on account of your RICHES: the groove that comes with being a STARBOY. Everyone wants to identify and curry favor with you. You become THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE, the NEW GOD that most folks will gladly abandon their OLD GOD(S) for. The girls want to be with no one but you. From being the least desired, you become the DREAM GUY that the PRETTIEST OF MAIDENS want to have FOR KEEPS.

You become all-round appealing: everything you say makes sense. Nothing you do meets disapprovals: you’re always right. You’re the SWEET that every tongue wants to LICK, the LIQUOR that DRUNK CHAPS want to SIP, the HARVEST that SOWERS want to REAP, and the FIGURE that EVERYONE wants to MEET. Jetting around the world is SPORT for you. You even take the PRIVATE JET thing to the next level, journeying in a CONVOY OF JETS IN THE AIR.

No one has ever seen a convoy of jets in the air. So, automatically, you become a RECORD BREAKER. Many folks covet your extravagant lifestyle. Your life is all shades of GLORY and HONOUR. But be that as it may, all these are nothing but VANITY - in the opinion of certain people. They can TELL THAT TO THE BIRDS though, not the WANNA-BE BIG BOYS. These guys don’t entertain such CRAPPY TALKS. They want to win, to succeed, to become RICH - at all costs POSSIBLE!

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INTRODUCTION

They say the sky is big enough for birds to fly without clashing. The waters are amply massive to drown all the earth. Likewise, there are ENOUGH RICHES TO GO ROUND. The bible even makes clear that “the portion of the earth is for all”: (Ecclesiastes 10:19). But if that’s the case, what then is the deal with the alarming number of paupers in the world’s nooks and crannies? What’s the deal with financial preys and their predators? Need I mention victims of Political brouhahas?

But you see, those are the sorts of questions that WANNA-BE BIG BOYS don’t stick around to ask, or ask for too long. They couldn’t care less about paupers and preys and victims. Oh, they actually do care: they care enough to NOT WANT TO BE LIKE THEM! How I wish these riches were easy to acquire. Although the earth’s portions are for all, securing a portion for one’s self requires more than a sense of entitlement: one must make moves: – MONEY MOVES!

“No PAIN, no GAIN!” “No STORY, no GLORY!” “The VIOLENT taketh by FORCE!” I could go on and on with excerpts from the deep orientations that govern the minds of these wanna-bes; as they reach out to LAMBANO what they believe to be their portion of the earth. Generally, nothing comes without a price. And here’s one thing I know about a price: IT MUST BE PAID. That wouldn’t be a problem for the wanna-bes. They are down: – DOWN FOR WHATEVER!

Having supposedly been rightly oriented toward amassment of riches, they must have been fairly enlightened in the area of PRICES and their PAYMENTS thereof. It could be the STUDY HARD/WORK HARD policy as a pathway to bagging BIG BOY RICHES, or the SOFTWORK/SMART WORK approach as a means of stepping up to the BIGGER BOY LEVEL of riches, or SOME OTHER PATH, definitely a SUPERIOR PATH; as a means of bagging the BIGGEST BOY RICHES.

It doesn’t matter the price to be paid. As long as the REWARD thereof is the PRIDE OF LIFE, it’s a GO for the wanna-bes. It takes a GREAT DEAL to be a BIG BOY. Being a BIGGER BOY takes even more! But it could take EVERYTHING to secure a place among the BIGGEST BOYS; – the ones who can paint a NEAR-PERFECT picture of the FAMED GOLDEN STREETS OF HEAVEN. Depending on your APPETITE for riches and glory, you can be any of THE BOYS!

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THE BIG BOYS (UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS)

Perhaps I could start my analysis of the BIG BOYS with the 6-3-3-4 system of education in Nigeria: (I’m Nigerian by the way). 3 years of Pre-Primary Education followed by 6 years of Primary Education. Another 3 years of Junior Secondary School followed by 3 years of Senior Secondary School. Then comes 4 years of Higher Education. But it’s probably no news that this system has not achieved its objectives as envisioned by the National Policy on Education.

The reason for that failure is simple: the system is poorly implemented. Howbeit, it has been the DOING of many BIG BOYS! The highly educated business professionals and specialists from different fields of endeavor: doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and CEOs. These, and the likes of them, make up the UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS. They are the BIG BOYS! They have their privileges, their blessedness, their recognition, etc. They have status: highly-rated men of SUBSTANCE!

Merely being an undergraduate of LAW or MEDICINE is a REVERED STATUS. I see LAW STUDENTS march on campus in FLASHY UNIFORMS on a daily. They can easily be singled out in a multitude of students, especially THEATRE ARTS students who are said to be mostly dressed in “RAGS.” LOL. Underqualified wanna-be law students even get dumped in the Theatre Arts department, and their disdain for the department is something obvious enough for even the blind to see. LOL again. But what if I told you that this essay is brought to you from the DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE ARTS?

The same goes for students of MEDICINE/other PROFESSIONAL COURSES. If merely being a POTENTIAL BIG BOY can rouse such reverence, what happens when things blow up and these potential big boys become ACTUAL BIG BOYS; by working their way to the UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS? Short and simple: they’ll RUN THE SHOW! But that’s all it is: “run the show.” They aren’t the ones who MAKE THINGS HAPPEN, and they most certainly aren’t the ones who CALL THE SHOTS!

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THE BIGGER BOYS (LOWER-UPPER CLASS)

When it comes to MAKING THINGS HAPPEN, give it to the BIGGER BOYS (those at the LOWER-UPPER CLASS). These are those with NEW MONEY: money from investments, business ventures, etc. They have the potential to climb to the upper-upper class (the biggest boys). The thing with Bigger Boys is that they find no fulfillment in merely RUNNING THE SHOW (like the Big Boys). So they don’t just STUDY/WORK HARD: they WORK SMART! You can call it “SOFTWORK.”

They MAKE THINGS HAPPEN in the sense that they CREATE and MAINTAIN their own riches. They are not necessarily literates, as they don’t necessarily PLAY SAFE by threading the SAFE ZONE of ACADEMIA. They want to be more than mere “ADMINISTRATORS” - who majorly RUN THE SHOW in their different fields of expertise while only occasionally MAKING THINGS HAPPEN. Bigger Boys are in the habit of making things happen BACK-TO-BACK. It is what DEFINES THEM!

Their GLORIFICATION is “OVER THE BAR!” The highly successful footballers, filthy-rich/famous artists, multinational business gurus, and so forth. I would have loved to add TOP POLITICAL JUGGERNAUTS to the list though - if they weren’t mostly infamous for amassing ILL-GOTTEN riches. You will agree with me that the splendor that radiates from the above-mentioned personalities is simply OUT OF THIS WORLD: take other of the world’s top superstars for instance.

One could be tempted to deem these guys as belonging to the upper-upper class: the BIGGEST BOYS. Luxury mansions everywhere in the world, frequent acquisition of fancifully sophisticated automobiles that sell at mammoth prices, and their aesthetically extravagant lifestyle. But as magnificent as the BIGGER BOY CADRE is, it is not as prestigious as the BIGGEST BOY CADRE. The bigger boys are WEALTHY. But you see the biggest boys? they are EXTREMELY WEALTHY!

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THE BIGGEST BOYS (UPPER-UPPER CLASS)

The biggest boys have more money than they could possibly spend. The same can be said about the bigger boys though. The biggest boys are EXCEPTIONALLY RICH, the same as the bigger boys. These two are actually segments of the UPPER CLASS. Hence, they have quite a lot in common. They live in exclusive neighborhoods, gather at expensive social clubs, and send their children to the finest schools. As might be expected, they also exercise a great deal of influence and power; both nationally and globally. But then, a couple of factors differentiate this SEEMING TWIN.

Unlike the lower-upper class (bigger boys), the upper‐upper class (biggest boys) is made up of ARISTOCRATIC and HIGH‐SOCIETY families with OLD MONEY (who have been rich for generations). Again, unlike the bigger boys, these extremely wealthy biggest boys live off incomes from their inherited riches. They are the GODS OF THIS WORLD: the ROYALS, the ELITES: the ones who CALL THE SHOTS! This is what the biggest boys are; that the bigger boys ARE NOT!

ABSTRACT

This ESSAY aims at capturing your possible reality. But before we come to you, let’s briefly survey the story of a 67-year-old man who in the course of his life had submitted 365 job applications without getting employed for once. His 366th attempt paid off, but at age 67. Despite his credentials, super intelligence, skills, gifts, and talents, he couldn’t as much as get a job until he was 67 years old. He barely survived on menial jobs, moving from one failed business to the other.

There’s this other one; a 35-year-old virgin, demon-possessed, unable to attract men despite her beauty and virtue. Her situation was bad, so bad that seducers didn’t consider her a good enough victim for their seduction, usage, and rubbishing. I’m talking about a lady with beauty that can send shivers of insecurity down the nerves of goddesses. Yet, no single man would look her way. Even when she managed to become a wife, becoming a mother was no easy task.

The good thing about the lady and gentleman above is that they conquered those situations in due course, after they got to learn about the realities of THIS WORLD: the PHYSICAL WORLD (THIS SIDE), and the SPIRITUAL WORLD (THE OTHER SIDE). There’s basically a co-existence of every single individual on BOTH SIDES. But not everyone is aware, arguably. It was the knowledge of this reality that served as a blueprint for them to navigate their ways out of WOES - to BLESSEDNESS. You will get to read their full story later in this ESSAY. For now, let’s return the focus to YOU!

You have a smooth journey going on THIS SIDE; and on THE OTHER SIDE too, supposedly. You have no idea about the other side. Your consciousness of reality centers on this side alone, very oblivious of the fact that movement on this side occurs simultaneously with movement on the other side. More so, HAPPENINGS on this side are determined by GOINGS on the other side. As it turns out, huge mountain-walls await you at some point on the other side. So, as you journey along, basking in your usual groove on this side, you get to the mountain-walls on the other side. TROUBLE!

Suddenly, everything on this side comes to a halt: begins to slowly dwindle, depreciating to nothing: whatever that NOTHING might be for you. You notice a sudden stagnancy that doesn’t exactly look like it at that initial stage. But it soon becomes clear and you quickly perceive that something is not right. What then follows is a gradual loss of peace, a gradual loss of joy, of high-spiritedness; all of which afforded you a jolly life – until TROUBLE CAME!

You are ignorant. You do not know that HAPPENINGS on this side are determined by GOINGS on the other side. Therefore, as you journey along freely and simultaneously on both sides, you get to the huge mountain-walls on the other side and there’s a COLLISION! Suddenly on this side, everything comes to a standstill: a pause, a sudden regression that slowly widens the gap between you and your goals, your pursuits, destiny attainment, EVERYTHING!

A new form of life introduces itself to you: a mediocre life, a life of pettiness, stagnancy, a merry-go-round, emptiness, nuisance, a life of irrelevance: one you hate to embrace! You try not to embrace it. But it’s no use! The more you try not to, the more you sink into it. It is like a GOOD DREAM that turns into a BLOODY NIGHTMARE! You freak out, and all that is within you starts to run helter-skelter – while you actually remain stuck at one spot irredeemably, OR NOT.

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INTRODUCTION

The huge mountain-walls on the other side are massive limiting forces that stamp down progress on this side. Its existence/source is usually unknown. Its discovery depends largely on the measures employed to unravel certain mysteries behind bad situations that plague people on this side. The unraveling process is as taxing as it is demanding. It is onerous, it is worrisome, suppressing, deadening, and so suffocating! Not many people survive it: NO WONDER!

Those walls are responsible for DISORDERS on this side: ceaseless SUNSHINE in WET SEASONS, constant RAINFALL in DRY SEASONS, replacement of BRIGHT MORNINGS with DARK NIGHTS. Dark nights becoming darker, darker, and darker. Where does one go from here? No more easy-goings, no soft works, no more jolliness. Is this DOOMSDAY? There’s hardship, confusion, desperation, and all manner of negativities that make life one hell of a LIVING HELL!

All effort to alleviate afflictions on this side caused by the WALLS on the other side mostly proves futile. Instead, it seems to breed more afflictions. Nothing works anymore! Life is sour! In fact, all has come to an end! The next to follow should be death in whatever form it is manifested: spiritual, mental, eventually physical. But NO! there’s this mystifying signal that calls to itself from somewhere, some sort of safe haven: “come to Me; I will give you rest,” it APPEALS.

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YOU

You are planted on this side like every other creation. Depending on your allotted FATE, you could either be of a noble or ignoble line. You could have it going easy, you could have it going a little rough. Whatever the case, the good thing is that LIFE IS WORTH LIVING. So you advance from one point in life to the other, flexing your life as much as you can. Whatever you want, you can reach out and get it without difficulty; or just little difficulty that counts for no labor.

Even if life isn’t smooth for you, it’s not rough enough to knock you down. You still manage to steady things; though with too much energy exerted. You are hopeful for a better tomorrow. It is that hope that gives you the strength to keep going. You push on with a determination to win. Your efforts yield results, though they might be so little to show for your great input. But half bread is better than none, isn’t it? Of course; yes! until there’s no half bread ANYMORE!

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THE OTHER SIDE

The other side is the ULTIMATE SIDE. It is elusive, subtle, and spooky. It usually finds a way to establish its consciousness in people’s minds, hinting on the reality of its existence. It could be via impressions, dreams, trances, etc. Some people get the hint. Some don’t. Some even consider it a mirage, a myth that is common among fools. The sad truth, however, is that ‘not even such disregard of the existence of the other side; stops it from determining the happenings on this side.’

It is responsible for the abundance many enjoy on the side, the growth, progress, achievements, etc. It is also responsible for the ADVERSITIES on this side: plagues, ugly circumstances, even death! Short and simple, the other side controls this side. Hence, for anything to occur on this side, it must first of all occur on the other side. So, in a situation where there are walls on the other side to thwart movement over there, automatically, movement on this side is equally thwarted!

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THE MOUNTAIN-WALLS

For whatever reason, due to whatever factor, huge mountain-walls [could] emerge on your path as you journey on the other side. It is usually massive! Horrible! Frightening! 10 times mightier than the walls of Jericho! The mighty walls of Jericho were built to stop armies of nations from invading Jericho. But these massive, horrible, frightening mountain-walls are 10 times mightier; and aren’t built to stop armies of any nation. THEY ARE BUILT TO STOP YOU! Yes, YOU!

The walls are lined up one after another; with fairly short distances separating one from another. Also, the walls become shorter as its line goes – until the last wall, the shortest of all; and then an open space comes into sight (like it was before the walls surfaced in the first place; like it originally was). There’s then a bright welcoming light – GLORY: your goals, achievements, destiny, everything, which the walls emerged TO KEEP YOU SEPARATED FROM, POSSIBLY.

The first wall stands high and large with no end to its widths and no sight of its tip. It grows into the cloud, attempting to mask that welcoming light: that GLORY. But little rays of that light somehow manage to beam scantily through the wall, calling strongly to its source. It bears the aura of paradise, a place to be! to be inhabited by whosoever trails the light rays to its source: a seeming HEAVEN. It wants you to track it down, which wasn’t supposed to be a BIG DEAL.

But somehow, for some reason, there are multiple lined-up mountain-walls right there to stop you from tracking down the light rays to its source; or at least give you a HARD RUN if you’re anything of CONQUEROR. Having collided with the first wall on the other side, life becomes stationary on this side. To move on, you have to get past that first wall. You have no idea how. You don’t even know there’s a second wall, a third, fourth, and so on. You are in for HARD TIMES!

In today’s world, success is not optional. Everyone with a working mind wants to succeed. That is why we have different people doing different things to achieve success. Some think that going to school and graduating with good grades is the key to securing a good job and becoming financially stable (successful). Others learn different trades, maximize their gifts and talents, delve into one business or the other, and some even get their hands dirty to achieve success.

Since success is more like the only way to go, not so many people want to have any strings attached to failures. Actually, nothing is attractive about a failure. So it is understandable if everyone wants to identify with successful people only. But in a bid to not be “unequally yoked together with failures,” many have skipped noticing potentially successful people because the appearance of such people bear no resemblance to who they can potentially become.

If you have noticed, a common factor in the success stories of successful people usually holds that “no one believed in them in their down and lowly times.” But there have also been the accounts of those who mentioned how certain people or a particular person spotted the potential in them and invested in them until they amounted to the successful persons they eventually became. But such accounts are rare, as it is usually the other way round 90% of the time.

This scenario is quite rampant in the world of romance. Not many women are interested in men who aren’t successful, and not many women can readily spot a potentially successful man. This is why we have a lot of broke guys finding it hard to get a girl for themselves and a lot of successful guys with different ladies at their beck and call. But it’s high time ladies understood that no guy was born successful. They all were once broke and only worked out their success.

There is an exception to those who were born with a silver spoon though. Certainly, not all ladies will be lucky to land themselves a successful guy, whether the one who inherited the success or the other who worked it out. But you know what? Ladies can always get down with potentially successful guys and be rest assured of a better tomorrow as was the case with Michel Obama. But then, doing this requires the ability to identify a successful man when he’s in range.

As you know, many men have taken advantage of this to jilt ladies who don’t deserve such treatment. That is why it is of the essence to learn how to identify truly potentially successful men before opening up to them, hence the purpose of this article. So, here are some ways to know whether your fiancé or boyfriend will succeed in life.

1. DOES HE HAVE A WRITTEN DOWN LIFE PLAN? Living without a vision is like traveling without a destination. It is usually said that “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Therefore, if he lacks a written down life plan, he’s a failure in the making. Let him be. But if his vision is made plain on paper, ride with him! He’ll prove to be your “ride or die.” In the long run, he will not only have a written down plan of his life alone. He will have yours too!

2. WHAT DOES HE DO WITH HIS TIME? What a man does with his time determines what he will get out of life. One of life’s general principle is that of “sowing and reaping” which holds that “a man reaps what he sows.” If you notice that the kinds of seeds he spends his time sowing are bound to yield an undesirable harvest, he’s a no-no. But if he invests his time wisely on good ventures, open up to him! You’re one of those good ventures he’s wisely investing his time in!

3. WHAT DOES HE DO WITH HIS MONEY? A man who cannot manage his money well cannot manage his own life, not to mention managing the life of another, much less that of a woman. If he’s got poor managerial skills when it comes to money, be rest assured that he lacks financial intelligence and can’t possibly have emotional intelligence. If not, success is just around the corner, and you can play a major role in facilitating the achievement of that success.

4. DOES HE TALK ABOUT BRIGHT FUTURE? AND, ARE HIS ACTIONS CONSISTENT WITH HIS WORDS? Even the bible says that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” Therefore, what proceeds out of a man’s mouth is not to be taken for granted. If he’s not futuristic in his words and approach towards life, he’s a failure in the making.

5. DOES HE CARE ABOUT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT? If he’s open to more learning and new things, perhaps has a library, then he’s out to achieve success. Like they say, “readers and leaders.” But can you guess what non-readers are?

6. WHAT IS HIS PERSONALITY LIKE? Ask yourself the following questions: is he a man of integrity in terms of doing what he says? Does he have self-respect? Is he self-controlled enough not to go about sleeping around with women? How is his attitude towards other people? Who are his close friends? How positive are those friends? And what influence do they have on him? These are questions to which feedback must be positive if he’s headed towards success.

7. DOES HE CARE ABOUT HIS HEALTH BY AVOIDING THINGS THAT WILL CAUSE HIM SICKNESS? Health is wealth. A man who plays down on health plays down on wealth. A man who doesn’t; is wealthy already.

8. HOW HARD WORKING, CONSISTENT, AND DILIGENT IS HE? Hard work, consistency, and diligence are key ingredients of success. Shortage of them is directly proportional to impending failure!

9. IS HE AWARE OF THE LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES BESTOWED UPON HIM AS THE HEAD? It takes a man with great leadership skills to pilot the affairs of a romantic union, and a man has to be aware of his leadership role in this regard. Sadly, not all men do. If he does, very good! If he doesn’t, well, very bad!

10. WHO IS HIS MENTOR IF HE HAS ONE? If he has a mentor, examine the life of his mentor to see if it is worth emulating. If he doesn’t have a mentor, why doesn’t he? Every successful man needs someone ahead to lead him through the corridors of success. A man without a mentor is like a sheep without a shepherd. So, does he have a mentor? And who is that mentor?

If your answers tilt more towards the negative, you mustn’t necessarily walk away if he’s good for keeps. His shortcomings could be an indication of the work to be done on him, and you gotta be ready. Of course, nobody was born perfect. We all became who we are by learning to grow. So, if he is willing to do what it takes to get on the success ladder, stick around and be a part of his success story. If he’s obviously not, kick him out through the window!

It’s distressing how people just bear an intense dislike for other people for doing their best to play their roles on the stage of life according to the grace made available by God; how folks become resentful of other folks for running their races with a determination to win; how associates become green with envy over other associates for maximizing upon the scripture that speaks of how ‘a man's gift enlarges him & seats him among princes.’ Isn’t it just unimaginable?

Well, nothing is unimaginable anymore these days. After all, we live in an EVIL WORLD. Right from the days of old, jealousy & envy had always been the order of the day for LOSERS. Cain killed Abel because Abel offered a better sacrifice to God. He could have simply improved on the quality of his sacrifice, possibly learning from Abel. But no! He would rather kill his only brother & live the rest of his life as a VAGABOND. How did he get there? One word: ‘ENVY!’

It’s so sad that Abel got caught up in the web of it all. One may be puzzled as to why God just sat back and let Abel be murdered like that. But who are you, oh man, to question God? However, things can be quite different these days. No doubt, we’re in the last days when iniquity is bound to abound. But in these last days, iniquity isn’t the only thing abounding; GRACE abounds even more. So, the more losers continue in iniquity, the more grace abounds for winners.

By reason of this grace, a loser’s case can never be different from that of Haman who set up gallows intended for the execution of Mordecai, only for him to end up being hung on it. They can spend years consulting oracles like Haman did. But all that energy will count for nothing order than their own doom. Mordecai rose from the gate to the palace on the wings of genuineness before God and man. Haman fell from the palace to the grave on the wings of bitterness.

Even the almighty Goliath was a pitiable loser! After all that ranting against the people of God, just a sling of stone from the little David took him down like Humpty-Dumpty! What a great fall it was! The acclaimed giants of Jericho built a great wall to shield themselves from the former Egyptian slaves who had nothing but the one true God on their side. But just by singing praises to that God and walking around those walls, the walls fell, & Jericho came to total ruin!

Besides Cain, the above-mentioned losers were haters of God’s people (Israel), envious, & everything of a nightmare to them. In today’s world, those are the sets of people popularly tagged “BAD BELLE.” You don’t have to do anything to provoke their wrath; just RULE YOUR WORLD, BE HAPPY, & maintain an accelerating pace as you journey through life. It doesn’t matter if your acceleration is slow; just seem progressive & the attention of BAD BELLE will fall on you.

On the flipside, there are other factors that could foster what I’d like to call ‘BAD-BELLEISM.’ Refusing to let someone draw a snake from its hole with your hand could make that person a bad belle. Not letting yourself fall victim to a USER could make him a bad belle. Identifying yourself early enough as someone’s mark for a con and peradventure, beating him in his game, could turn him to the Chief Executive Officer of BAD BELLE GROUP OF COMPANIES. Damn!

There’s a saying that “if you don’t use people to achieve your own success, people will use you to achieve theirs.” I, however, do not share that school of thought. How about “don’t use people? But more importantly, don’t let yourself be used by people.” The problem, however, is that when you refuse to let yourself be used by certain people, they begin to hold you in contempt & develop bad belle, especially if you move on & are obviously headed towards success.

Success indeed is the RUIN OF ENVIOUS SOULS. But they that trust in the LORD shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abides forever. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint; their paths are as a shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day; (god is involved). Losers better roger that! Together, we can make the world a better place! But las las, BAD BELLE IS ALLOWED.

Jezuzboi©

Tajbol4splend:
Some people are selfish, they want the perfect spouse of their dream who is going to take them as they are, they don't think of being the perfect match for him or her in return, few of them are lucky but most of them spend years being single.

As in ehn...

mumumugu:
I wanna marry mumu

Be careful what you wish for, cuz you might just get it. You wanna marry a mumu? seriously?

It is more important to desire to be a good spouse than to desire to marry a good spouse. If you only desire to marry a good spouse without making effort to be a good spouse yourself, you might end up meeting a good spouse who doesn’t consider you good enough for him or her. So, as you seek a worthy spouse for yourself, also be a worthy spouse.

Nobody wishes to marry a loser who has nothing to offer. But rather than being so mindful not to marry a ‘loser who has nothing to offer’, be more concerned about not being a ‘loser who has nothing to offer’. Likeminded people will always attract each other, & whatever you give out will always return to you. Be a version of who you wish to marry!

Gone are the days when people married beauty & fine looks. Everyone now wants peace & will only marry someone who can afford them that peace. But rather than being so concerned about marrying someone who can afford you peace, work hard to be a carrier of that peace & you’ll attract a peace carrier. Be a version of who you wish to marry!

If you want someone to accept you as you are, don’t be picky. You can’t desire a tall, fine god or goddess & expect them to take you as you are. They have standards too. If they meet your standards, meet theirs too. If you aren’t ready to meet anyone’s standards, don’t expect anyone to meet your standards. Be a version of who you wish to marry!

If you desire people with good habits, cultivate good habits yourself. If you want a faithful spouse, be faithful. If you don’t want to marry a cheat, don’t be a cheat. If you want the truth, be truthful. If you wouldn’t like to be deceived into marrying someone you wouldn’t ordinarily marry, don’t try to deceive anyone into marrying you.

Quit playing mind games. It is an unattractive trait. It is why relationships fail. Many want to be players, to be in control, to eat their cakes & have it back, to play the other for a fool. If you play someone for a fool, get ready to be played for a fool, cuz that thing they say about Karma is a legit saying. Just be a version of who you wish to marry!

Jezuzboi©

Netfilix:
And there are few who mashed up the two

Like you?