Autumn had come with regal ease. The tumbled leaves were a garland of reds and gold and the trees waved in the southerly wind. Finn was near the church when he saw his wife getting inside. He’d already dropped his motorcycle near the woods along the road that would lead them to the next town.
Before leaving, he had gone on his knees and prayed. The staining light of the autumn moon created a dome of soft glow above the trees with a few rays reaching the soft chocolaty browns of the ground. He consulted God one more time before sending his message to the people in a different way. His sermons didn’t change their way of living, neither did the leaflets he printed with the earnings he made. Church members had become devotees of fashion, joining hands with the ungodly in parties of pleasure, in dancing and festivities. With their worldly hopes and ambitions that filled their hearts, the love for God and faith in His Word had grown cold.
Finn fervently asked God to enlighten his mind and that of Lily’s on the exact message they would leave for them. He asked God to shine His glorious light on the path they were heading to and to protect them. He thanked Him for everything he had and everything he was and with a whole new determination, he rose up from the ground and here he was now, at the church. Finn hurried up and got to his wife before she got inside the church. There were no guards around which made it easier for them to finish their task without distractions. God was surely paving way for them.
Once they were both inside, Finn started with the small idol at the altar. The small thing broke in half as Finn exerted pressure on in between his calloused hands. Lily went by the stained glass windows, soaked a cloth with a chemical and started wiping the windows. The images of Mary and Jesus Christ were wiped down making the figures look horrifyingly disfigured. With a spray paint, Finn wrote on the wooden altar, FLEE FROM BABYLON!
He had once preached to an eager crowd on the meaning of Babylon; “Babylon signifies confusion. It’s a word derived from Babel and we all know what happened there.” The little crowd nodded as they remembered the story in the Bible.
“Babylon is employed in the Scripture to designate the various forms of false religion. In these times, the unfaithfulness of the church to Christ in permitting her confidence and affection to be turned from Him, and allowing the love of worldly things to occupy the soul is likened to the violation of marriage vows. Can someone tell me some of the things of the world that turn us from loving God?” he engaged with his listeners.
This was an effort to keep them alert and intrigued in what he had to tell them. A teenage boy rose his arm.
“Yes?”
“Instagram. Most youths are hell bent on getting more likes, more perfect photos and they lie about where they are and who they’re with just so they could be seen as celebrities or something.” The boy said.
“True.” He smiled in approval and made a mental note to pray for the young man. He most likely needed to focus more on serving God than viewing social media sites as is the norm of all teenagers.
“Money.” An elderly woman said.
With money comes power and like they say, power corrupts all. Money is the epitome of evil. It’s the source of arrogance, ignorance and corruption.
“John Wesley once said, “Do not waste any part of so precious a talent, merely in gratifying the desire of the eye, by superfluous and expensive apparel, or by needless ornament. Waste no part of it in curiously adorning your houses; in superfluous or expensive furniture; in costly pictures, painting, gliding. Lay out nothing to gratify the pride of life, to gain admiration or praise of men…rather be content with the honor that cometh from God.” He explained to them how widely the popular churches throughout Christendom have departed from the Bible standard of humility, self-denial, simplicity and godliness.
Many were guilty of one thing or another that was mentioned by Finn. With their hardened hearts, they couldn’t give up what they owned. He’d advised them to sell the useless paintings and house decors and help the needy by providing them with food and warmer clothing but they had disapproving looks on their faces. Finn heard one of them say, “Does he even know how I got everything I own right now? I won’t dare let anyone else look down on me ever again.” Finn shook his head with a crestfallen face.
“Honey. I’m done with the windows.” Lily whispered to him once she’d walked past the polished pews to him.
Grand finale. He said to himself as he referred to the big statue in form of Jesus Christ that was right in front of him. He’d already spray painted the aisle with the verse, 1 John 3:5,8 (“He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin…He that commiteth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”)
“Finish up with the entrance.” He instructed Lily without sparing a glance at her.
Slowly taking the sledgehammer from his backpack, Finn closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. His well-built arms holding the hammer swung backwards and with brute force he hit the idol’s legs making it slant towards its right. With another hit, the idol fell down and the alarm sounded. He smashed it a couple of times more making sure the people won’t be able to repair it with glue then quickly headed out to where his wife finished painting. 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”
There was a reason behind the verses they chose to leave for the town’s people. First, is to show them that Jesus would save them as long as they truly repented their sins and forsake the world. Second, to warn them that Jesus was returning sooner than they were imagining and that they should choose to turn to searching wholeheartedly the message of truth rather than listening to the voice of worldly wisdom.
Finn and Lily certainly didn’t feel guilty of what they had done. After all, it was one of the splendid churches around the country that was embellished in and extravagant manner and the worshippers arrayed themselves in costly attires. The minister wasn’t left behind when it came to such things. He, along with the others were paid handsomely to attract people and entertain them. His sermons didn’t touch the popular sins at all.
“Let’s go!” he whispered in a yelling manner. He could hear footsteps rushing towards the front entrance as they hurriedly went out of the church through the back entrance. Once at the backdoor of the church’s compound, Lily fiddled with the lock as she tried to open it with her bobby pin. She heard the click sound and quickly twisted the knob and rushed out with her husband right behind her. Luckily, they were able to get all their tools with them from the church including Finn’s hammer. Both of them quickly walked to the woods to where Finn had hid his motorcycle and rode off to the next town.
“Oh my goodness!” one of the guards exclaimed. He took off his official cap and looked at the destruction that was the church. With deep sorrow, he dropped on his knees and a tear fell from his left eye as he secretly asked God why this happened to His place of worship. His fellow guard took his gun from the holster on his waist and walked toward the altar. He read out what was written; “Flee from Babylon.” His mind got confused at what the message meant. He shook his head trying to get back to focusing on finding the culprits. Looking back, he saw his comrade on his knees.
“Michael! What the heck are you doing?” he asked him in a hushed voice. Michael finished his short prayer and looked at his partner.
“Babylon is about to fall.” Michael said then fell to the ground.
Michael’s comrade rushed to him, knelt down beside him and attempted to wake him up. “Michael. Michael wake up!” He gently shook both his shoulders. He bent down and looked for chest movements at the same time, listening for breath sounds. Everything was normal. He was breathing, he had a pulse… he just fainted. He quickly dialed the pastor and told him of what had happened to the church.
Within minutes, Pastor Daniel was within the vicinity and he witnessed the destruction. “Quickly clean up the paint. I’ll call for a church meeting soon after.” Daniel knew exactly what the message was about but he didn’t want to tell the people about it. He didn’t want to make them get scared. He planned on having a short sermon that would assure them of peace and calmness.
Peace He muttered to himself as he dialed a number.
Michael woke up and after remembering where he was, he quickly sat up and looked for his comrade. “Larry?” he called out.
“You’re finally awake. Good. Help me with cleaning this up.” He told Michael as he handed him a mop and a metal bucket.
“Clean what off?” Michael enquired while rubbing his forehead.
“The spray paint, dummy.”
“Isn’t that tampering with evidence?”
“Pastor’s orders.”
With that said, Larry went out to the back to fetch water by the tap leaving Michael in a daze. He took his phone from the back pocket of his uniform and took photos of the messages they were about to clean up.
Click!