"Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sits on it.Earth and heaven fled from his presence and were seen no more. And I saw the dead, great and small alike ,standing before the throne. Books were opened, and then another book was opened, the book of the living. The dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.
Then the sea gave up its dead. Death and the world of the dead also gave up the dead they held.And all were judged according to what they had done.Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the lake of fire. (This lake of fire was the second death.)Whoever did not have their names written in the book of the living were thrown into the lake of fire." REVELATION 20:11-15
The world as we know it melted away seamlessly. It reminded me of how Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne switched between programs in The Matrix. The background simply poured out and was replaced by a new one.It was a little like what I had seen in the cartoons, especially the Tom and Jerry ones where Tom would be amongst the woolly clouds in heaven. The earth had become like what the sky looked like on a cloudless sunny day. It was all vibrant but faded, something like a thin fabric of faded blue silk covering bright lights in the background. And it was everywhere. The sky;The floor; The distance. The roof of the world did not meet the ground, there was no horizon. I looked at myself and expected that I would be draped in some heavenly robe or bed sheet-like garment. I was still wearing my pyjamas ,the same Adidas track pants and my black WWF t-shirt of The Rock. Looking around from where I stood I could see a queue that stretched continents into the distance. I hated queues. At least it would be the last one I'd ever be in.
I guessed that this queue would lead to the saint that would lead the righteous into the pearly gates and the wicked into the rusted, flame charred gates of hades. I knew where I was going.But I had hope.I mean, I was a good guy...,wasn't I? I never hurt anyone, at least not intentionally .I gave my change to the poor beggars sometimes, well, when I felt like.But still, I felt actual sadness for them,I felt their plight Wouldn't that count for something? I could probably talk to the man at the gate, maybe he would understand. After all,they were all angels and angels where good guys.Weren't they?
What was that 50 cent said? "Hommie if I go to hell n you make it to heaven/just get me to the gate and I'll talk my way in/got a gift, I'm special with the flow I'm good/shit, I done talked my way out of the hood!"
Normally the queue would have taken days, months or even years to move.But time had become a thing of the past--that is,if a past still existed. The irony of it all. Fatigue and hunger where also things I couldn't feel and I didn't even know how long I had been there for. We all just shuffled our feet and moved forward, sheep herded through the pen for the last time. I had tried talking to the guy in front of me even though I didn't recognise him. I asked him what he thought lay ahead of us but he seemed not to have heard me so I spoke louder when I repeated myself. It seemed like he heard me but he had that 'did-you-hear-something?' look on his face. When I tried to tap his shoulder, my hand just went right through him like a hot knife through butter. Knowing I would probably get the same result, I still turned to the girl behind me and waved my hand in her face. She looked as though she had been trying to get my attention earlier but had just resided to her fate of no conversation. I did the same but would occasionally forget and blurt out my thoughts the way people waiting in queues usually do. Expecting that the next person would find the same thing humorous or they were also frustrated by poor service or some irrelevant small talk initiator like that.
I was now alone with nothing but my thoughts.Had I lived a good life? Was it fulfilling? I never learnt to tap dance like I hoped I would.And I never got to finish all those self-help books I had stacked up .I'll read em soon as i get back home. But there was no longer a home now, was there? Had I served the Lord? Would I be allowed inside? Maybe I could reason with them.Maybe there was a purgatory.....
Then the sea gave up its dead. Death and the world of the dead also gave up the dead they held.And all were judged according to what they had done.Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the lake of fire. (This lake of fire was the second death.)Whoever did not have their names written in the book of the living were thrown into the lake of fire." REVELATION 20:11-15
The world as we know it melted away seamlessly. It reminded me of how Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne switched between programs in The Matrix. The background simply poured out and was replaced by a new one.It was a little like what I had seen in the cartoons, especially the Tom and Jerry ones where Tom would be amongst the woolly clouds in heaven. The earth had become like what the sky looked like on a cloudless sunny day. It was all vibrant but faded, something like a thin fabric of faded blue silk covering bright lights in the background. And it was everywhere. The sky;The floor; The distance. The roof of the world did not meet the ground, there was no horizon. I looked at myself and expected that I would be draped in some heavenly robe or bed sheet-like garment. I was still wearing my pyjamas ,the same Adidas track pants and my black WWF t-shirt of The Rock. Looking around from where I stood I could see a queue that stretched continents into the distance. I hated queues. At least it would be the last one I'd ever be in.
I guessed that this queue would lead to the saint that would lead the righteous into the pearly gates and the wicked into the rusted, flame charred gates of hades. I knew where I was going.But I had hope.I mean, I was a good guy...,wasn't I? I never hurt anyone, at least not intentionally .I gave my change to the poor beggars sometimes, well, when I felt like.But still, I felt actual sadness for them,I felt their plight Wouldn't that count for something? I could probably talk to the man at the gate, maybe he would understand. After all,they were all angels and angels where good guys.Weren't they?
What was that 50 cent said? "Hommie if I go to hell n you make it to heaven/just get me to the gate and I'll talk my way in/got a gift, I'm special with the flow I'm good/shit, I done talked my way out of the hood!"
Normally the queue would have taken days, months or even years to move.But time had become a thing of the past--that is,if a past still existed. The irony of it all. Fatigue and hunger where also things I couldn't feel and I didn't even know how long I had been there for. We all just shuffled our feet and moved forward, sheep herded through the pen for the last time. I had tried talking to the guy in front of me even though I didn't recognise him. I asked him what he thought lay ahead of us but he seemed not to have heard me so I spoke louder when I repeated myself. It seemed like he heard me but he had that 'did-you-hear-something?' look on his face. When I tried to tap his shoulder, my hand just went right through him like a hot knife through butter. Knowing I would probably get the same result, I still turned to the girl behind me and waved my hand in her face. She looked as though she had been trying to get my attention earlier but had just resided to her fate of no conversation. I did the same but would occasionally forget and blurt out my thoughts the way people waiting in queues usually do. Expecting that the next person would find the same thing humorous or they were also frustrated by poor service or some irrelevant small talk initiator like that.
I was now alone with nothing but my thoughts.Had I lived a good life? Was it fulfilling? I never learnt to tap dance like I hoped I would.And I never got to finish all those self-help books I had stacked up .I'll read em soon as i get back home. But there was no longer a home now, was there? Had I served the Lord? Would I be allowed inside? Maybe I could reason with them.Maybe there was a purgatory.....
No comments:
Post a Comment