The Past or The Coming Future Read online

CHAPTER 7

  “Now that I have told you who the Antichrist is, I am sure there are questions you wanted to ask, so you may now ask questions.

  “Bonnie, what is your question?”

  “Since the Antichrist is Michael, you stated one time before that he hated his parents. Could you give us the reason why a son would hate his parents?”

  “I guess it’s best to start at the beginning and give you the details before Michael was born and his early years until he entered college. This way you can truly understand the circumstances of Michael’s life.

  “Michael’s grandmother, Kim, was born in an orthodox Jewish home in Ireland. Her parents were very strict and would not let her date until she was 18 years old. She had met many young Jewish men that she liked, but none seemed to spark the fire women look for when they are looking for a husband. One day while walking home she met a young, dark and very handsome man by the name of Omar. Omar walked her most of the way home, but when she entered the Jewish area, he stopped and said he had forgotten to get something for his mother, and rushed off. After going 30 foot, he turned and yelled, ‘Can I see you tomorrow?’

  “Kim said she would meet him at the park at five.

  “The next day he was there and they sat and talked for almost an hour. He asked if she was Jewish and she said, ‘Yes, very orthodox.’

  “She asked if he was Arab, and he told her no. He stated he was part Spanish.

  “Every day they would meet and talk, and on Friday or Saturday they would go to the local soda store and have a coke or something else. They continued to see each other for a year, until one day he asked if she would marry him. He said shyly, ‘Maybe it is best that you wait until I tell you something before you say yes.’ At that time he dropped an atomic bomb.

  “He said, ‘I am not part Spanish, but Arab.’

  “Kim began to cry and said, ‘I do not know what I am going to do.’ If she said she would marry him, her family would cast her out for defiling herself and the family name. She loved him so much that she was between a rock and a hard spot. She decided her love for him was so great she would marry him anyway. She made him promise not to tell anyone he was Arab. Omar agreed and said he would continue to say he was Spanish.

  “Omar and Kim were married in 1942. Omar and Kim were so happy, the only way possible to show their love even more was by having a baby. Six months after they were married, Kim became pregnant. The happy time only lasted for one day. On Omar’s way home, a car went out of control, hit his broadside, and Omar was killed. Kim was devastated. She did not have a job and there was no insurance. She had but one choice and that was to go back home. Omar was one to plan ahead, so he always had the rent paid two months in advance. Kim was almost four months pregnant and desperate.

  “One day, a young man came around the corner of the grocery store and bumped into her. He said he was sorry, but then ‘Whoa, maybe I’m not sorry after all!’

  “Kim looked at him and said, ‘What do you mean?’

  “Andrew Brian Glispbe replied, ‘If I was sorry for bumping into the most beautiful woman I’ve laid eyes on, I would have to be crazy, so I’m not sorry.’

  “He asked, ‘Are you buying a lot?’ and she told him just a few items.

  “He asked, ‘May I carry your groceries home for you?’ She decided there would be nothing wrong in that so she agreed.

  “On the way home they talked, and Kim told him of the death of her husband and that she was pregnant. Andrew considered her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and asked if he could see her again? They continued to meet and became friends. Within three months, Andrew asked her to marry him. They were married in two weeks. In less than two months Kim had a baby boy. Andrew said he wanted the baby to have his name, even though he was half Arab. They named the baby Tony Andrew.

  “Before Andrew met Kim, he was going to night-college and had but one year remaining in order to get his degree. Plans changed now that he had a family. It would take at least two or maybe three years to get the degree, but he would not quit.

  “Two years later Andrew received his degree. With a degree it would open up many avenues that had been closed. One of Andrew’s friends worked for the government. He told Andrew that he could get him on if he wanted to change careers.

  “Andrew did change, and one thing led to another. Soon, Andrew had received notice that he would be the new head of the department. Andrew never dreamed he would ever be in politics, but there he was. The years went by quickly and soon their son, Tony Andrew, would be out of school and looking for a job.

  “Tony decided working for the government, like his father, was not a bad job. He went to college, and while at college he met a young girl by the name of Shannon. After dating for two years, they decided to get married. Tony’s mother had taught him how to speak in Hebrew while he was growing up, as well as the Jewish customs. When Tony decided to get married, his mother, Kim, reminded him when the Jewish holidays rolled around, they expected him to come over to their house. Even though Andrew did not align with this faith, he went along, just to keep peace in the family.

  “Tony and Shannon were married in May and went to the race track for their honeymoon. They both were avid race fans. They loved to watch the horses run and they also liked winning. You could find them at the track every Saturday, regardless of the weather. Tony did not have a very good paying job. He still needed one year in order to get his degree. Sometimes they did not have enough money to go to the race track to place bets or even to watch, so they would listen on the radio to hear the results.

  “After getting paid one day, Tony came home and gave the money to Shannon and told her to buy enough food to last them for two weeks. The next day, instead of buying food, Shannon went to the race track and decided she would put all the money on a long shot. The horse’s name was Diabolos. He was a 100 to 1 shot to win. Shannon knew she shouldn’t use the money on betting, because they had not won on a horse for three months, and that was all the money they had. She reasoned that if the horse wins, then they would win 10,000 pounds. At that time, a pound was worth more than an American dollar. Diabolos had lost six races in a row. The only reason he was in this race was they needed a fast horse to set the pace. Diabolos had led all six races until he reached the half-way mark, and that was when he ran out of speed. Shannon put all the money on Diabolos and then found a place to sit and watch the race. When the gates opened, Diabolos went to the front of the pack. Shannon said to herself, ‘One-fourth of the way around and still in first place.’ Diabolos continued to lead and Shannon said, ‘Halfway around and still in first place.’ She knew what had happened in the other six races at the half-way marker, but this day was different. Diabolos seemed to be running harder and faster at the halfway marker. As Diabolos raced down the back straight away, instead of just leading, he was pulling away from the second-place horse. Shannon was on her feet yelling and screaming at the top of her lungs for Diabolos. With 300 yards to go, Diabolos was ahead by 12 lengths! The other horses tried to make a last-minute run, but he was too far ahead. At the window, the man asked how she would like to have the money? She said, ‘In cash,’ and then she began laughing.

  “After leaving the race track, she stopped and bought everything she wanted at the store. When Tony walked in the door, he could not believe the smell in the house. It was the smell of steak! Shannon explained what had happened and that she would put the rest of the money in the bank the next day.

  “The next time Diabolos was supposed to race was in three weeks. This time, Tony and Shannon would go and watch the race together. The newspaper said Diabolos just got lucky, and for him to have another race like the one he previously won would be a miracle. Tony and Shannon bought tickets and sat up high, so they could see the whole race. The horses were placed in the gates and when the gates were opened, Diabolos was in front again. Being a 50 to 1 long shot to win seemed strange, since he w
as leading the pack. Things would not be the same after this race. Diabolos won his second race and he would never be a long shot again. Diabolos continued to win every race he ran. It was then that his owner decided to ship him to the United States to try and win the Triple Crown. If he could win the Triple Crown, he would be the first horse in the history of Ireland to do so.

  “Diabolos arrived in America four months before the first stage of the Triple Crown. The cool climate of Ireland could be a factor in the race unless he became accustomed to the humidity and warmer temperatures. Each day Diabolos worked out, the more it seemed the climate enhanced his speed. Three days before the race, his time broke the track record. The trainer and owner knew the day of the race would be a day that would go down in history.

  “The newspapers were saying how Diabolos had not run against the quality of horses which the U.S. produced. The odds for Diabolos to win were 10 to 1. The favored horse was Watch My Tail. He had not lost a race in his career and the other horses were, as his name implied, were watching his tail. He was a 2 to 1 favorite. Tony and Shannon decided, since they had not had a real honeymoon, it might be nice to go to the Kentucky Derby. The money they had saved from the other races gave them a nest egg for the future. They would bet $2,000 on Diabolos to win.

  “Tony and Shannon were seated in their booths awaiting the race like all the other people. There was an excitement in the air and a feeling that history was about to be made. It took 10 minutes to get the horses into the gates. As soon as the last horse was in the gate, they opened the gates and out came the horses, with Diabolos leading. Around the first turn he was one length ahead of all the others. Diabolos had gained a little on the curve, and going down the straight away he had a two length lead on the others and was pulling away. Going around the last curve he was a full five lengths ahead of the second place horse, Watch My Tail. All that was left was the straight-away to the finish line. Both jockeys were hitting their horses and doing everything possible to make them go faster. Watch My Tail was gaining on Diabolos, and with 200 yards to go it was an even race. At that point Diabolos must have reached down and pulled up his reserve energy. In the last 200 yards he drove ahead and won by three lengths. Everyone said they had never seen anything like it in the history of racing. The newspapers wrote about the power that was stored in the horse and were now predicting him to win the Triple Crown. Tony and Shannon won $20,000.

  “On their flight back to Ireland, they could not believe how lucky they had been, betting on Diabolos. Shannon asked Tony, ‘If we were to have children, what names would you like?’ They talked about girl names and then boy names, but there were none that appealed to them. Shannon told Tony they had better come up with some names soon.

  “Tony’s eyes started to get bigger and bigger and a smile came on his face. ‘Are you telling me you are going to have a baby?’

  “‘Yes, and we need to find a name for our baby.’

  “Tony stammered and said, ‘I’m wondering if the name Michael would be a good name.’

  “Shannon said, ‘That sounds good to me. We have made a lot of money on Diabolos, why don’t we name him Michael Diabolos?’

  “Tony thought about the names and confirmed, ‘Michael Diabolos is what it will be, if it is a boy. If it is a girl, we will name her Beth Diana.’

  “Back in Ireland, Tony and Shannon could not believe their luck. They knew they had two races to go, and if Diabolos continued to run the way he had, they would be set for life. Each day came and went until it was time for them to fly back to the U.S.

  “The Preakness would be the next test for Diabolos. If he won The Preakness, there was only one race to go, the Belmont. Diabolos had won Tony and Shannon $20,000 at the Kentucky Derby, so they decided they would bet it all. Diabolos was a 3 to 1 favorite.

  “The day of the race, they thought they had made a mistake because it was raining. The track would be slow and that would give the other horses a chance. The horses were placed in the gates, and then they were off. The race was over almost before it was started. Around the first turn, Diabolos was ahead by one length. Then it happened. The second-place horse slipped on the mud and went down. It was a chain reaction! Horse after horse went down. Out of the 12 horses racing, there were only five left in the race. Diabolos won by 11 lengths. Now there was but one race to go. If Diabolos could just win that race, they would never be in need of money again.

  “Time was flying by so quickly, the Belmont was only a week away. They both were ready to go, but Shannon starting getting sick every morning. Her doctor said it might be best if she got her rest and did not fly until after the baby was born. Tony agreed, and on Thursday, he would make his last trip to America alone.

  “Tony put everything he had won from the last two races on Diabolos to win. The newspapers were saying he had a very good chance of winning the Triple Crown, if he did not get out too fast and falter at the end. The horses were placed in the gates. On the left of Diabolos was Watch My Tail. ‘This race might be one that people would talk about for years,’ thought Tony. When the gates were opened, Diabolos and Watch My Tail were side by side. Around the first turn, they stayed side by side, and also down the straight-away. The other horses were eight lengths back and fading. Both jockeys were playing a mind game against each other. They knew what their horses could do. It was just a matter of time until one made a move. As they rounded the last curve, both horses were still running side by side. With less than 100 feet to go, Diabolos moved up by a head. The photo finish showed the winner was Diabolos. He had just won the Triple Crown.

  “Most of the money Tony and Shannon had won was placed in an account that would pay them a specific amount of money each month. They also had placed enough money in a trust so their children could go to college. When it came time for Shannon to give birth, there was excitement on both sides of the family. Kim said, ‘I am going to teach my grandchild how to speak Hebrew and all the customs of the Jewish people.’ Shannon’s father wanted to teach him or her how to hunt.

  “The day came when Shannon told Tony it was time to go to the hospital. At 10:22 she gave birth to a baby boy, Michael Diabolos Glispbe. Neither Tony nor Shannon would know how their son would hate the name they had given to him.

  “Tony worked while Shannon stayed home with their newborn son. They both loved to be near their son and watch when he did things that all newborn babies do. There was something different about their baby. They could never put their finger on what it was; there was just something different. Most babies will try to say Mama or Dada at the age of 12 to 15 months. Michael was saying those words at nine months. When Michael was 10 months old, Shannon told Tony she was going to have another baby. Tony was more excited about a second baby than he was the first. He said he had always wanted a large family, maybe six or seven children. ‘The more kids, the more I get excited and the more love I can give. How soon will it be before the baby arrives?’

  “Shannon said, ‘I am three months pregnant.’

  “The days went by slower this time than they had with Michael. Shannon had to take care of Michael and watch what she was doing so she wouldn’t hurt her unborn child. Kim was coming over to the house almost every day. She would rock Michael to sleep and whisper in his ear Hebrew words. By the time Michael was one year old, he was putting words together to form sentences. He could also tell colors and he knew how to count from 1 to 15. Kim never told Tony or Shannon, but she knew Michael was a gifted child. She kept it to herself, and when she would babysit, she was always speaking in Hebrew. She would also write numbers on a little chalk board and make him do everything left-handed. She believed that children who were left-handed would use more of their brain than right-handed children.

  “Shannon called Kim and told her she thought that it was time for her to go to the hospital. Shannon asked Kim to take Michael back to her house until she returned from the hospital? Kim said
she would be right over, and not to worry about a thing. Kim picked Michael up, and on the way back to her house she told Michael that he was going to be a very great man some day.

  “At 16 months, Michael was putting sentences together and talking more like an adult than a baby. Whenever Michael would go to his grandparents’ house, Kim would always put on classical music and make Michael sit and listen. She would tell him the name of the songs, and next time he heard the song he knew the name. When Michael was one year old, Andrew purchased a small piano. Kim knew how to play the piano, so at the age of 13 months she began to let Michael tap on the keys. She started to put notes together to make small tunes for Michael. Within one month Michael could remember the tunes and play them without looking at the keyboard. Michael was always asking if he could play the piano. The night Kim took Michael home while Shannon was going to the hospital was no different. Michael would play the songs he loved. If he did not like a song, he would not play it.

  “That night, Michael’s baby brother was born. Tony and Shannon did not have any names picked out as they had for Michael.

  “One of the nurses walked in and said, ‘It is really a sunny day today.’

  “Shannon looked at Tony and said, ‘That is what we will name him, Sonny.’ Their new son would be called Sonny William Glispbe.

  “When Tony and Shannon brought Sonny home, Michael watched Sonny all the time. Michael would tickle his feet and kiss him on the belly, which made Sonny laugh. At night, Michael would cry if he could not be in the same room with his baby brother. Tony had to have their beds together so Michael could look at Sonny. Michael would also speak to Sonny in Hebrew.

  “Michael was so intelligent; he was working math problems at two years of age. Kim would come over two or three times a week. She would take Michael on long walks and talk in Hebrew and teach him poetry. Kim started doing the same thing with Sonny as she had done with Michael. When she rocked him, she would talk to him in Hebrew. She would also take things out of his right hand and put them into his left hand. Sonny was not the gifted child that Michael was; however, Sonny was an average child.

  “When Sonny was one year old, Shannon let everyone know that number three was on the way. She said she was four months along and she was hoping that it would be a girl. Tony and Shannon decided they would look at names before this baby was born. The two names they picked were Clint Daniel, just in case another boy arrived, and if it was a girl, she would be named Mary Beth.

  “Shannon was having problems with this child, and the doctor told her it would probably be her last. Shannon was sick most of the time and was afraid she would lose the baby before it was born. When she was in her ninth month, she was sure she could have the baby. At the hospital, the doctor had to take the baby by cesarean section. They named the baby Mary Beth. Tony and Shannon had three kids, 33 months, 17 months, and a newborn. They had their hands full, but there were no complaints.

  “At night, Michael would watch Sonny and Mary Beth sleep. He seemed to be fascinated by his brother and sister. When Sonny was a month old, Michael would say ‘My baby.’ Michael loved his brother and sister so much he did not want to be away from them for more than 10 minutes.

  “One day Shannon called Kim and asked if Michael could come over for the night. She said the other two kids were sick and she was afraid they would give it to Michael. Michael did not want to go, but Kim told him he had to go or he would get sick also.

  “At 2 o’clock in the morning, fire trucks could be heard coming down the street. Tony and Shannon’s house was on fire. The fire was so intense that it had started the house that was next to it on fire, also. The firemen were told that a whole family was still inside. One fireman took an axe and was able to break in the front door. One fireman went in and was able to find Sonny and bring him out. His body was lifeless. They poured a special solution over his burns to try and stop the pain. The fire was so hot if anyone else went inside, they might not come out. One fireman decided he would go in and maybe he would get lucky and find the other child or one of the parents. Before he was able to come out, the roof collapsed, trapping him inside with all the others. The fire took four lives that night. Sonny hung on for almost three days, but infection set in, and on the fourth day after the fire, he died. Michael was the only one left. Andrew and Kim said they would raise him as their own son. The money Tony had put away would be used for Michael’s education and also for expenses he would have when he got older.

  “Every day Kim would talk to Michael in Hebrew and tell him how God let his family die. She said it was all God’s fault. She told Michael if God was a loving God He would not have let those things happen to them. She said she would never have anything to do with God again. Michael asked Kim if God took Sonny and Mary Beth. She said he did and it was not right. Michael wanted to know how God took them.

  “Kim said, ‘God used a fire to burn them and that caused them to die.”

  “Michael would always say, ‘Fire is bad, God is bad.’ When Michael was five, he saw Andrew light a match and start a fire. At that time, Michael told his grandpa that he should put the fire out before he caught the house on fire. Michael thought if there was fire that a house would be burned down. Michael also associated fire with pain and death. As the years went by, Michael never lost his fear of fire.

  ‘In the area where Andrew and Kim lived, there was a small community of Jewish families. They had their own store, school, bakery and a synagogue. Everyone in the community knew where the Jewish areas started, and unless a person had business there, they stayed out. The Jews never felt like outcasts. They held jobs, went to other stores to shop and just acted normal.

  “Some of the Jewish boys went to the public school, but they were always being harassed. When Michael started school at the age of six, no one expected trouble in the Jewish school. Well, there was trouble from day one. When the day started, the teacher would call out the children’s names so the other children would get to know one another. When she got to Michael, she introduced him as Michael Diabolos Glispbe. The other children started to laugh and said, ‘He is not Jewish. Who ever heard of a Jew named Glispbe?’ That whole day he was taunted and ridiculed for not being Jewish. It was one thing to be Jewish and go to the public school, but it was a whole new ball game if you are not Jewish in the eyes of the other children and you go to a Jewish school.

  “The next day, Kim went to school with Michael and had a talk with his teacher and explained that she was Jewish and that Michael’s father was half Jewish. ‘Even though Michael is not full Jewish, he is one quarter, and as long as he lives in my house he will attend the Jewish school.’

  “All through the first grade, Michael was teased and made fun of because he was not a Jew in the eyes of the other children. During that first year, Michael far surpassed the other children in everything he did in class. As a matter of fact, he considered it very boring to attend school.

  “He said, ‘There is not a challenge, everything is so easy.’ Kim talked Andrew into letting Michael attend another school when the regular school was over each afternoon, ever though it would cost more. There was an elderly Jewish man by the name of Joshua Cohen who had set up a special school for children who wanted and needed extra help. Kim explained that Michael was a gifted child and what he needed was a challenge. Mr. Cohen said he would see just how gifted Michael was.

  “The first day Michael showed him he did not need help in any subject, he needed a challenge. Mr. Cohen started with math. Michael did all the problems and asked for more. Within one hour, Michael was solving algebra problems. That first night proved to be what Michael needed.

  “Mr. Cohen would give Michael the challenge he needed. Michael learned physics, chemistry and all the higher levels in every subject which Mr. Cohen could think of.

  “The Jewish school was another story. One day, one of the boys told Michael he was the Devil. Michael did not say
anything; he just thought the boy was teasing him. But when the boy said the Devil’s name is Diabolos; Michael fought back. He hit the boy and knocked him on the ground and jumped on top of him and continued to hit him until he had blood coming from his nose, mouth and forehead. Michael told him to never say that to him again. Michael was in a fight almost every week. The boys would call him the Devil, and Michael would fight back. For a boy in the first grade to be in a fight almost every week was unbelievable. The teasing never stopped.

  “One day Michael told a group of boys that one day he would get back at all of them. He said he was going to make them pay, and pay dearly for being so cruel to him. Michael did not have any friends in school. The boys did not like him, and if any girl did like him, they knew that the other children would make fun of them. Michael made friends with a couple of boys who went to the public school. They did not care if he was Jewish or if he was not Jewish. They liked Michael.

  “Mr. Cohen worked with Michael so much and taught him so much that the teachers asked Andrew and Kim if they could push Michael ahead one year in school. The teachers said he was so much more advanced than the other children; the school was boring to him. Kim did not want to push Michael ahead. She thought it may harm him more than help him. Michael was never advanced forward in school.

  “The years went by quickly, and before anyone knew it Michael was in junior high. The boys continued to call him the Devil and say he was not Jewish. In a rage, Michael said. ‘One day I will get even with all the Jews. Since you say I am not Jewish, then I denounce my Jewish heritage and become your enemy.’

  “From that day forward Michael decided in his heart he would get even. He thought back when he was little and remembered his brother and sister dying in the fire and how his grandmother said it was God who let it happen. He said, ‘Since God let my family die and the Jews are God’s people, then God is my enemy also.’ Michael started to look at things a lot differently than he had ever looked at things before.

  “Hatred never left Michael. He hated the name his parents had given him. He hated all Jews except his grandmother and Mr. Cohen. He hated God and anything that was Godly. Michael would say, ‘God is so cruel; He has no heart, and if He did have a heart how could He let bad things happen to good people? What did my mother or my father do or my brother and sister do to deserve death? They were good, but an unloving and cruel God killed them. He killed my people and one day I will kill his people.’ Michael began reading about Adolph Hitler and the way he had tried to exterminate the Jewish population. The more he read, the more intriguing the material was. Every spare minute he was reading about the death camps Hitler had set up and the different methods that were used to take the lives of the Jews. Michael’s heart was turning hard toward God and the things of God. There was nothing that could be done for Michael. He was lost, totally lost.

  “The Bible says a person can only harden their heart to a point and if they go beyond that point, then God will harden their heart. Michael had gone beyond that point. From then on, God was hardening Michael’s heart and preparing him for the mission that Michael was destined to take. The Antichrist was alive and well on planet earth.

  “When Michael started high school, things changed a little. Some of the boys grew up and stopped teasing him, but others continued with the slurs and the mocking. What hurt Michael more than the teasing and slurs was that the girls did not want anything to do with him. Michael wanted to be like the other guys and have a girl friend, but the girls knew what would happen if they were to date him.

  “The rest of his high school years went by quickly and were uneventful. When it came time for him to go to college, Kim suggested Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Michael was against Hebrew University from the very start. But as Michael thought about going there, he decided, ‘What better way to learn about the Jewish people than to be where they are.’

  “I have told you about his four years at the university, but the things that would occur after he left the university, I have not told you about. In the following days, I will tell you how ruthless he became, and how he turned into a liar and a murderer.”