The Past or The Coming Future Read online

CHAPTER 5

  “The next day before classes started, Michael walked into my room and said he was sorry for what he had said the day before. ‘I have only been sleeping for two or three hours a day, and I am so tired I am saying things without thinking.’

  “I told him that I did not take any offense to what he said and everything was forgiven.

  “The first semester was almost over, and the students and teachers would have a two-week vacation before we had to be back for the second semester. I decided I had been in Jerusalem long enough, so I made plans to fly back to Oklahoma. A rest was what I needed.

  “Two days before the semester was over, Michael came into my room excited and beaming from ear to ear. I asked, ‘Why are you so excited?’

  “He exclaimed, ‘I have just finished writing and debugging my master computer program!’

  “I did not know you were writing a program," I stated.

  “Remember back in August when we talked about what a person would have to do to have control of the economy of the world? You said computers were the real answer. I have written a program that is so sophisticated, but is still user friendly, it will replace all computer operating systems. I have de-bugged the program and put information into it to see what the result will be, and it works perfectly.’ Michael decided he would take as much time as needed to ascertain the creditability of his new program before he would attempt to sell it.

  “I told Michael I was off to Oklahoma for two weeks, and when I return I would see how his new program was going.

  “Being home in Oklahoma was great. I could relax and not have any worries about what had happen in the last six months. I called Dr. Charlie Hale and told him I was on a two-week vacation and asked if I could visit him one day next week. He said the school would be closed for two days because of an International Conference Meeting in Washington D.C. I spent most of the remainder of that week visiting friends and seeing relatives. Monday morning I awoke early and drove to Dallas to meet Charlie. We had lunch, and then I told him the reason I wanted to talk. I told him about Michael and that I thought he would be the coming Antichrist.

  “Charlie said, ‘I don’t believe that we Christians will know who the Antichrist is before the rapture. If we did, we could alter events, and maybe some fanatic might even try to assassinate him. He could be like an Antichrist.’

  “I told him about the idea I had for the credit card company and within three months it was reality. I also told Charlie about Michael’s middle name being Diabolos. Charlie looked at me and said, ‘You know in the Greek Diabolos means the Devil.’

  “‘I know,’ I commented, ‘That’s what scares me.’ I also told Charlie about the new program that Michael says will replace all operating systems in the world. ‘If that is true, he could control all the world’s computers.’

  “Charlie said, ‘I thought the Antichrist would come out of the Common Market, not Jerusalem. I really don’t think you should worry about Michael; probably nothing will come from his or your ideas.’

  “I drove back to Oklahoma feeling a lot better. I guess I was really blowing things out of proportion. I thought back how TV preachers made some really big predictions that never came true. I know the TV audience would believe what they would say, and when it did not happen they made excuses to cover up their ignorance of the Word of God.

  “I spent the rest of the week doing nothing. On Saturday I flew back to Jerusalem and decide to look at Michael in a new light. I could not assume he was someone that I thought he was or that I might want him to be. He was just a 19-year-old boy excited about college. Also, I believed he was probably spell-bound by Dr. Messenger, but who wouldn’t have been?

  “Monday started the new semester. I had a different outlook, and when I saw Michael I asked how he was doing and how his program was going. He said he found one or two bugs, but other than that, everything was great. I noticed Michael was wearing some new clothes and asked if his parents sent them to him. He said he had a job and he was using that money to buy the things that he needed. Within the next three weeks, Michael was driving a new BMW, wearing a new Rolex watch, wearing custom-made clothes and sporting rings that would choke a cow. I was not going to be negative. I thought his new job must pay really well but, I must admit, I figured the money came from his credit card company. The weeks went by so fast it did not seem possible 2002 was only a few days away.

  “The new year started out cold and snowy. Everyone said they couldn’t remember it being so cold. January 5th would be remembered in Jerusalem for years to come. It was so cold that people were using make-shift, pot-belly heaters just to keep warm. In one Jewish school the electricity went out, so one of the teachers asked if it would be okay to use one of the pot-belly heaters. She was given permission, and within one hour the room was warm and comfortable. Before anyone knew what was happening, the heater had used up all the oxygen in the room. The teacher and the students had passed out. One student tried to get to the door, but she fell and knocked the heater over. The wood inside the heater started a fire, and within minutes the school was totally engulfed in flames. The school had a total of 963 students. Fire trucks began arriving, as did the police, and ambulance after ambulance. Firemen were risking their own live to save the children inside.

  “One hour after the fire started the news media were asking for anyone in the Jerusalem area to go to the nearest hospital to give blood. There was also a request for help in the hospitals, if anyone was willing to donate their time.

  “Dr. Kent said, ‘If anyone wants to help, they should leave immediately and go to the hospitals.’ Some students went and others decided they might be in the way. I was on my way out the door when Michael asked if I was going to the hospital.

  “I said, ‘I think they could use all the help they can get, and that’s where I’m headed.’

  “He asked if he could ride with me, and I said, ‘Sure, but we need to leave now.’

  “They were bringing children in cars, trucks, and any way they could get them to the hospitals. This hospital was in total chaos. In each hospital there were morgues being set up for those who had already died. I heard one doctor say in a whisper, ‘More than 700 of the children are feared dead. It may take days to identify the dead. Some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition.’

  “The hospital asked if I could work in the burn unit. Michael also asked if he could help in the burn area, and they sent both of us there. There were too many victims and not enough helpers. We had to dress in totally sterile uniforms and wear a mask. I did everything they told us to do in the five-minute crash course they gave us. I was too busy to see what Michael was doing, but when I looked up, I noticed he had tears in his eyes.

  “I asked, ‘How do you feel? Are you going to be okay?’

  “He said he would overcome his grief. He stated, “The kids that live will be scarred for life. With the technology we have, why can’t someone invent some type of skin that will go over burn victims, so there will not be any scars?’ There was nothing I could say; Michael was right.

  “Being in the hospital all day was exhausting, but what bothered me more was to stand there and watch small children die and not be able to do anything. I looked around for Michael, but one of the nurses said he had gone. I figured he had seen enough. For a 19-year-old, he had seen more in one day than most people will see in a lifetime. I informed one of the doctors I would stay up all night with children if they had a place where I could rest for a couple of hours.

  “At four in the morning one of the doctors came in and asked if I could help out for at least another 12 hours. I said I could help as long as they needed me. I asked the doctor if anyone had come up with a count of the number of dead persons. He said he had called all the hospitals, and the numbers he had been able to put together were 137 still alive. He said it was the worst fire in the history of Jerusalem.

  “At ten, there was a telephone call for Dr.
Myers in the burn unit. I thought it was another hospital calling to give more information on the dead. As Dr. Myers talked to the person on the other end, his appearance changed. He was getting excited, and he asked the person on the other end of the line in a loud voice if he could come to the hospital immediately, and then he hung up the receiver.

  “Dr. Myers asked for all the nurses and helpers to step outside for a short statement. Outside in the corridor, he stated, ‘I have just talked to a young man who was helping in the burn unit. The young man was grieved about the scars the children will have from the burns. He went back to the university and started to work on an idea he had. Overnight, he says he has developed a solution that will work on burn victims. The young man is on his way to the hospital right now.’

  “Within 20 minutes Michael appeared in the burn unit. Dr. Myers talked with Michael, and then he went outside and talked with the parents of one of the children they did not think would live. Dr. Myers came back in and requested that the young girl be prepared for surgery. The operation lasted only 20 minutes. When Dr. Myers came back into the room, he was smiling. He asked for everyone to listen to what he was going to say.

  “‘The operation went well, but the next two hours will tell if it is a success.’ Michael was standing next to Dr. Myers while he was telling about the operation. Dr. Myers continued, ‘If the operation is a success, it is because of the invention of a solution that works with real skin to rejuvenate the cells. Michael Glispbe went back to the university and worked all night to invent this solution. Let’s all pray it will be a success.’

  “One hour came and went, and then the second hour passed. Dr. Myers decided after two hours and 20 minutes he would check to see if anything had happened. When he lifted the gauze that had the special solution in it off the arm, he could not believe what he saw. The area where the burn had been was completely healed.

  “At that time Dr. Myers started shouting out orders and making telephone calls to all the hospitals in the Jerusalem area where burn victims had been taken. I heard him say to someone on the other end of the telephone, ‘I don’t care what people think or what they will say, the method works! We can save hundreds of lives!’

  “Michael came into the burn unit smiling and crying at the same time.

  “I said, ‘I’m tired and ready for a break.’ We went outside in the fresh air and just sat in the cold. He explained how he had invented the artificial skin. What he told me I could not believe. It was beyond my wildest dreams.

  “Michael said after he left the hospital he began to walk and think. He thought of different chemicals he could put together, and it dawned on him what would work. He called Dr. Messenger and told him what his idea was and asked if Dr. Messenger would meet him at the university. At the university, Dr. Messenger agreed to help with the experiment. Michael gave Dr. Messenger a shot to put him to sleep. After Dr. Messenger was asleep, Michael then turned on a burner and burned Dr. Messenger’s arm. He awoke three hours later and asked if the graft worked. Michael said, ‘We will soon find out,’ and removed the gauze. The burned area on Dr. Messenger’s arm was completely healed. Michael asked Dr. Messenger if there was any pain in his arm, and Dr. Messenger said his arm felt fine. Michael said the solution should work with any skin. He said once a person is burned, you must remove the dead skin. You then apply the special solution to the area where the skin was removed, and then you apply the artificial skin. You then place a piece of gauze, which has been soaking in the special solution, on the artificial skin. Within two hours, the artificial skin will graft to the burned area. The special solution and the artificial skin make the burn area heal within hours. The special solution also stops infection. The real test will be in the next 24 hours. If the body does not reject the make-believe skin, then it is a success.

  “Within 24 hours, Dr. Messenger’s arm did not show any sign of rejecting the artificial skin. Michael called the hospital and asked about the young girl, whom they had not expected to live. Dr. Myers said, ‘She is doing fine as far as the burns are concerned. They have operated on her every 30 minutes until all the burned skin was removed and replaced with the artificial skin. There is no infection and her body is not rejecting the skin. She may still die, but it won’t be from the burns. She inhaled a lot of smoke, and at this time her lungs are still trying to shut down.’

  “Michael questioned Dr. Myers, ‘Since it works on burned skin, maybe it would work on lungs.’

  “Dr. Myers said, ‘We will try the treatment on one lung. If it works, she will probably live.’ Two days later, Michael said he had talked to Dr. Myers, and the lungs had healed just like the rest of her body had healed.

  “Michael said Dr. Messenger is helping him with the patent rights for the special solution and for the substitute skin. He said hospitals all over the world are calling and requesting both for their burn victims. The invention will make Michael into a millionaire overnight.

  “I thought back to the beginning of the school year when Michael was telling about his vacation and how he had met a man in California. The man’s name was Tim Cabot, and he had an idea about a robot. Michael said he spent two weeks trying to invent synthetic skin but nothing ever worked. Well, if what Michael said about the vacation is true, he now has synthetic skin or artificial skin.

  “I did not have a chance to talk with Michael for the next three weeks. On his way out of class one day he said the news media wanted interviews and statements about the solution and artificial skin he had invented. He requested of me, ‘Please do not say anything about the substitute skin. If the news media finds out the substitute skin is that of a slain lamb, they might charge me for cruelty to animals. I have received my patent, and there is talk I am in line for the Nobel Prize.’

  “I asked, ‘Have you received any money from this invention?’

  “I have received over six million dollars.’ In three weeks he had received over six million dollars; that is two million a week. In one year he would make over one hundred million dollars; I was speechless.

  “I wondered to myself if he was receiving any money from the credit card company. I had heard over the news that the card would be distributed nationwide in the U.S. in three months.

  “The next time I saw Michael, I asked if his computer system was working. He said he now had the money to open his own computer company.

  “If the program is a real hit with companies, what do you think the cost would be for your program?’

  “Michael said, ‘To begin with, the program will be free. I need to get it into the hands of companies so they can see how great it really is.’

  “The second semester was half over, and everyone was talking about Michael being nominated for the Nobel Prize. This was the first time in years anyone from Hebrew University had been nominated. Michael had changed. He was so busy he had time only for school, and we never saw him or Dr. Messenger except in classes. The solution and artificial skin were selling faster than it could be developed. The credit card company, ICAN, was two weeks away from going nationwide in the U.S. If it was a success, within six months the card would be introduced worldwide. Also, Michael gave his new computer program to five of the largest companies in the world. From what I had heard, they decided not to use anything except his program. They had informed all other companies that supplied them with software that, as of July 1, 2002, all contracts would be null and void. Things were going better for Michael than even he could really imagine.

  “Winter was over and the springtime sun was warm on my forehead. Being in Israel in the springtime was a time unlike any place I had ever been. The warm days and cool nights made me think about spring 2,000 years ago. Christ must have thought about spring in the same way I was thinking of it. The only difference was Christ knew this was going to be His last spring. He knew He was going to die for the sins of the world in a very short time.

  “I talked to Michael one day when
he wasn’t so busy. I asked if there was anything special he was working on or doing presently. He said he had read a book about a weapon that was developed in the mid-seventies. The book said it takes low frequency sound waves, shoots them from a special gun, and when they hit something, the target is totally destroyed. The only problem the inventor had was the distance. It could only shoot about 20 feet. The farther the distance, the less impact it had on the object it hit. Michael said if a person could perfect that weapon, it could destroy any object in the world. He said, ‘Many nations would pay a pretty dollar to have a weapon like that.’

  “I said, ‘Just think if a weapon like that was placed in an orbiting satellite.’

  “Michael stopped, looked straight at me, and did not say a word for about a minute. He then said, ‘You mean the weapon would shoot sound waves from outer space?’

  “I don’t know if it would shoot sound waves or something else.’

  “Michael asked, ‘What else might be possible?’

  “‘I have always toyed with the idea of fire balls. Someone would have to invent something that once it hit the earth’s atmosphere, it would ignite into fire.’

  “Michael asked, ‘Do you have any more ideas?’

  “I stood there not saying a word; I had done it again. I said I would not give Michael any ideas, but when he talks or asks question, I just open up and say what’s on my mind.

  “May was fast approaching, and things were starting to speed up at the school. Dr. Messenger was flying all over the world every weekend. Sometimes he would take Michael, and sometimes Michael would stay and work on his new laser project. His new laser project was a secret to everyone except Dr. Messenger and myself. Neither one thought for a moment that I knew what the project was. The idea I had given Michael about shooting fire balls from the atmosphere was surely what they were working on. I decided to see if there was anything in the Bible about fire balls coming down from heaven. In Revelation 13:13, it says that ‘he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.’ When I read that verse, my heart sank. If Michael is the Antichrist, I had given him the idea about fire balls coming down out of heaven and how to do it. It is, however, the False Prophet that brings the fire balls down from heaven, not the Antichrist, I reminded myself. I believed the False Prophet would use the fire balls to protect the Antichrist. If anyone would try to kill the Antichrist, the False Prophet would consume them with fire from heaven. I said I was not going to form any opinions about Michael, but the evidence continued to mount against him. I would watch to see what Michael did, and if there was a new laser weapon developed or if a new stock exchange company was set up using the name ‘Global Stock Exchange,’ then I would know for certain who Michael was.

  “In April Michael asked if I was going back to Oklahoma for the summer. I said I was leaving as soon as school was out.

  “Remember last year, we had talked about me visiting you this summer?’

  “I do remember, but I thought with the busy schedule you’ve had, you would not be able to come to Oklahoma.’

  “I was planning on visiting somewhere around June 12 if that is okay.’

  “I told him to be sure and call a day or two ahead of time so I could make plans on different places to go. He said one place he would like to visit was Dallas. (I thought it might be a real treat for Dr. Hale to meet Michael.)

  “Michael said, ‘I have heard a lot about the rattlesnakes in Oklahoma. The snake hunts, where hundreds of rattlers are captured and killed for steaks, would be a thrill to see.’ I told him the snake hunts occur in late April or early May, depending on the weather. By the time we get out of school the hunts would be over. Thank God for that. I’d had enough of rattlesnakes; I didn’t want any part of them ever again.

  “School would be out in three days, and two whole months of peace and quiet were at hand. Well, I should say seven weeks. One week Michael would be with me. That week could be good or it could be bad. I had no idea which it would be. I had to make sure I treated him like a guest. I knew he didn’t have to worry about money. He had so much he could probably never spend it all. However, in Perry, there weren’t a lot of places he could spend money anyway.

  “June 10th, I received a telephone call from Michael. He said he was in California and would fly into Oklahoma City on the 12th. He planned to rent a car, drive to Perry, and then, if it was all right, we could go to Dallas. I told him I had already made plans at a hotel so we could stay over a couple of nights, and that would give us plenty of time to see all of Dallas.

  “On the 12th, Michael drove up in front of my house just before lunch. I asked if he was hungry and he said he was starving. I fixed an old-time hamburger on the grill. After lunch I asked if he was ready to go to Dallas he said he was. It took about four hours for us to drive to Dallas. We went straight to the hotel and unpacked our bags. Michael said he would like to take a shower before we left to look around Dallas. We took in all the tourist spots of Dallas. When we arrived back at the hotel, we were both exhausted and ready to go to bed. I told him the next day I would introduce him to one of my college professors.

  “We were supposed to meet Charlie at his house at four. We arrived a little early just so we could sit back and rest after the previous day. Charlie and Michael seemed to get along pretty well; there were question and answers and more questions and answers. At five, Charlie told his wife he was going to put the steaks on the grill. I helped Charlie with the steaks and noticed there were six steaks cooking.

  “I asked, ‘Do you think we’re that hungry?’

  “‘No, ‘He chuckled, ‘My mother and father are coming over for supper, too.’ Within five minutes, his parents showed up. I introduced them to Michael, and they hit it off immediately.

  “Michael asked, ‘How old are you and Debbie?’

  “Tom said with a grin, ‘I’m in my eighties and Debbie is, well, she is somewhere around that age also.’

  “Michael complimented them on how young they looked. ‘Sometime in the future would you be interested in making commercials for me? I have a new idea, and I would need someone in their eighties or nineties.’

  “‘Oh, I’ll have to think about that if and when the time comes,’ Tom said.

  “‘If everything works the way it is supposed to work, Tom, I will pay you $250,000 a year.’

  “Tom was drinking a glass of water when Michael said how much he would pay him, and I thought Tom would choke to death on the water. He began to cough and cough and cough.

  “After he stopped coughing, he said, ‘Would you repeat how much you would pay me.’

  “Michael said, ‘I will pay you one quarter of a million dollars.’

  “Without blinking an eye, Tom exclaimed, “I’ll take the job. When do you want me to start?’

  “Michael said, ‘It could be a year or it could be five years; we are working out the details, and once we have a contract we can start making commercials.’

  “The rest of the evening Tom and Michael talked about everything under the sun. It was getting late and I said we must leave. Tom gave Michael his telephone number and said, ‘Just call when you want to start the commercials.’

  “On the way back to the hotel I asked what kind of commercials Tom and Debbie would be making.

  “Michael stated, ‘I have interest in a credit card company, and they want to make commercials with elderly people so the senior citizens around the world will not fear credit cards. Most elderly people will not sign up for credit cards, and those who do get them won’t use them. We need some strategy to use on the elderly so they will feel comfortable using the card. Tom and Debbie are exactly what I am looking for.’

  “The next day we finished touring Dallas and headed back to Oklahoma. I asked if he had been watching the roller coaster ride of the stock market. He said he could not believe how one day the market gains 70 or 80 points and the next day
it will lose a couple of hundred.

  “I knew I had to ask him, ‘What would you do if you owned a stock exchange?’ If I didn’t ask first, he would ask me and that would give him fuel for more thoughts and ideas.

  “Michael looked at me and asked how I would run a stock exchange if I owned one?

  “The first thing I would do is to write a computer program that would stop all transactions if the market started to dip. The second thing is really radical. All investors would have to agree to have more than one account. The third thing I would do is to guarantee that an investor could not lose all he has in one day.’ Michael smiled and looked at me and said, ‘Thanks.’

  “I asked, ‘What are you thanking me for?’

  “He said, ‘I had never thought about owning a stock exchange company.’ I had done it again. I said I would not let him ask me what I would do, which would give him ideas. Everything he said would happen was happening. The only remaining thing was the weapon that shoots fire from heaven. I suppose when we get back to school, Michael will come up to me and say he has just perfected the weapon.

  “Michael said I could drop him off at the airport, and the rental company would come and pick up the car he had left at my house. He said he was flying back to California for some important meetings with Dr. Messenger. As the plane lifted off the ground, I thought to myself, ‘What if the plane was to crash? I would have been wrong about Michael and my own ideas of who he was would be false.’

  “I know I have talked a lot about many things that happened before the rapture. They are very important and essential to understanding how the Antichrist could gain world domination. At this time, I must leave, so I will not let anyone ask questions. All immortals must be in heaven for a special banquet. I will see you tomorrow.”