GEFTAKYLYPSE NOW

[al Hartman]

SKIPPY: "How 'bout thothe Patriot'th?"

This is going to draw fire over on the Eagleth Eagles website, mark my wordth words.

al

[vernecarty]

This is going to draw fire over on the Eagleth Eagles website, mark my wordth words.

al

What's that?! 
Verne

[Joe Sperling]

GEFTAKYLYPSE NOW continued....


SKIPPY: "George Geftakyth, why don't you let the people go? You thay they are free to
leave, but your teachingth hold them through fear. The Author sayth to thtop teaching
herethy, and to repent of the wrong you are doing. Do you want more plagueth?"

GEORGE: "As I said before, I know of no author, and no, I will not let the people
go--they can always leave if they want to. Let them leave, and go back to all of
the shallow churches, and shallow teachings, and shallow lives. Let them leave the
covering, and the blessed place, and God's pattern, and return to the churches which
displease The Lord. Now, get out of my sight, I have better things to do."

SKIPPY: "OK (takes another bite off a chocolate brownie he has in his hand), but you'll
be thorry."

At about midnight, James, Herbert and Skippy were awakened by the sounds of many voices
outside in the compound. Some of the voices sounded angry, while others sounded profoundly
sad, while others were weeping. As they made their way outside they were witness to the
6th plague upon the compound: THE PLAGUE OF THE EX-ASSEMBLY MEMBERS.

From one end of the compound a voice said loudly "I spent years in bondage due to your teachings George, let these people go".  And another voice said "I never had children because I was counseled not to marry". "I went through years of abuse because I was counseled to submit to
my husband, despite his cruelty" said another voice weeping. "As a child I was forced to sit in silence through entire meetings" said another voice. "I wanted to become a minister, but was told that Bible schools were not of God" said another voice.

"I labored under the fear that God had shut the door on me due to my disobedience, because of your teaching regarding the Inheritance" said another. "I couldn't go to church for years, or even read my Bible because I felt I had failed God so badly when I left" said another man choking back his tears. "I lived for years as though I was a little kid, with 3 other brothers in one room, and I was twenty-five years old. I had to ask permission in order to even go take a walk". "My whole view of God became warped under your ministry-- he became a God who demands performance, and who draws back his love if you are not fully committed or fail in some way" cried out another voice. "You turned Jesus into a Jesus/Moses, filled with rules and requirements and legalism" said another voice.

Some other voices cried out in return "Go away you whiners! You've allowed bitterness to rule your lives. The Assembly wasn't all that bad, and I don't believe what some of you say happened there at all. It's your own fault for being there, and you are exaggerating the abuse you suffered for some sympathy. Sure, George may not be perfect, and has failed in some ways, but we have all learned
wonderful things under his ministry. You should be thanking God for what you supposedly suffered
there, and have hearts of forgiveness, not accusation".

Then a voice said quietly "My brother committed suicide due to the rigid stress of the Assembly and his own self-perception. He felt he had failed God so greatly that there was no way back. And no one really showed pity, the only thing that was important was the "Testimony", and so my brother was swept under the rug and forgotten."

Many, many,  more voices spoke throughout the night with their complaints, and memories of past abuse, and a longing that all of the people in this camp could escape what they had gone through. Oh, how they wanted George to repent so that he would harm no one else through his teaching and manipulation of the Scriptures. The voices had a profound affect upon the people in the camp, as they saw the mass of ex-members who said similar things about George, and the leadership, and their days enmeshed in legalism. Many of them wept, while others staunchly defended George and his system, and claimed there was never any abuse at all. But still, George would not let the people go.

SKIPPY: "Hey, thith ithn't funny at all. I thought thith wath thuppothed to be a funny thtory. Thith ith really thad. I don't feel very well at all. Hey Author, make it thtop, pleathe?"

THE AUTHOR: "No, Skippy, it isn't funny is it? You see, Skippy, You and James and Herbert are all characters I've invented. I can make you all do silly things, and place things in your backpack to find, and go where I want you to go. You are part of a world I created. But I live in the real world Skippy, that was created by the greatest Author of them all. He doesn't create characters for silly reasons, but as part of a vast plan, and his heart is filled with an infinite amount of love. But there is one character I have placed in this silly story of mine that comes from my world. That is George Geftakys. And he is very real, and he has caused a great deal of pain to many people, through egotism and pride, and he has warped the Scriptures of the greatest Author of all and sent many into bondage because of that. THE PLAGUE OF THE EX-ASSEMBLY MEMBERS is actually a real plague in many ways, in that there are many witnesses to the wrong teaching, and wrong conduct that occured there.

The members themselves are to be blamed for allowing themselves to continue in such bondage, but George himself has much to answer for, and truly needs to repent for the environment he created, and the pride that continues even to this day, abiding in his heart. And there are those
in bondage wanting to escape, but trapped by a manipulation of Scripture itself--these need to be set free."

SKIPPY:  Thankth for exthplaining that to uth, (reaches into a bag of Fritos, takes a handful and
shoves them in his mouth) but I like the thilly thtuff a lot better. I liked it when you made me thee a moothe jumping on a trampoline. I'll take that over a group of upthet people any time".

THE AUTHOR: "I know you would Skippy. Go check your backpack. I think you'll like what you find there."

...to be continued.

[Joe Sperling]

GEFTAKYLYPSE NOW continued....

At Midnight James, Herbert and Skippy were awakened; but not by a noise--in fact,
it was the total absence of any sound which awakened them. There were no sounds
of monkeys or birds, or any of the other usual sounds associated with the jungle. It
was what some might call a deafening silence which descended upon the camp.

The three went outside into the cool night air and saw a most amazing sight. There in
the middle of the compound was a Giant Hand. It was facing palm upwards, and upon
it's palm were hundreds of bottles filled with fluid. The silence had led everyone outside,
even George and Betty. A look of utter disbelief was upon his face. He had told the
story of a Giant hand rescuing him as a child, but seeing it now actually caused a look of
great fear to fall upon him. A voice then spoke loudly "George, come forward!"

But George recoiled, and everyone fell back in fear. But the Giant Hand moved closer to
George. Unknown to George was what was contained in the bottles the Giant Hand held
carefully. They were tears. Now, some tears, though salty to the taste, are actually filled with
sweetness, such as a tear which comes from laughter, or a tear shed in mercy or forgiveness,
or a tear shed in gratefulness or thankfulness to God.

But there are tears which are both salty to the taste, and also bitter indeed. Most of the
bottles held these type of tears. They are tears which are shed needlessly--shed through
false guilt, or from abuse, or fear. They are tears shed through pleading prayers of forgiveness
for sins which are not actually sins at all, or for wrongs committed which were not actually
wrongs at all. There were tears in these bottles shed for not being able to submit to authority,
when this authority was never given by God in the first place. There were tears of shame,
shed from a twisted manipulation of Biblical precepts upon the person, which led to a grief
that God had never intended at all. These were all tears caused by a system which used guilt
and fear to manipulate the members,  and make them submit to an authority and a teaching
that was never taught by God. They were bitter tears indeed and quite caustic in nature.

Then the Giant Hand took one of the vials and poured it upon George. He let out a scream,
and grabbed his head where the tears had fallen. There were no burns, but George actually
felt what the person who had shed them once felt, and it was excruciating. The Giant Hand
poured another vial upon George, and again he cried out. This was the final plague upon the
camp--THE PLAGUE OF THE GIANT HAND. The Giant hand then poured vials upon those in
Leadership and upon Betty too, and they all cried out as they felt first hand the false guilt
and suffering many of them had caused others. Again, and again the Hand poured vials upon
George, who was beginning to weep.

Then the Giant Hand began to pour vials of tears from George's own family members upon
him, and these appeared to hurt the worst of all. For these were tears of bitterness, mixed
with great sadness too, for they had suffered under the man, but also loved him. George
began to fall to his knees, and began weeping very loudly. He was feeling years of pain, and
uneeded suffering, and false guilt, and loss, and confusion, and most terribly of all, despair.
The people had brought much of this upon themselves for allowing it, and living under it,
but the realization that he had created it was overwhelming. The tears were burning George
deeply, to the very core of his heart. Finally, he fell face down upon the ground and cried out
"What have I done? What great hurt have I caused?" And he began to pray loudly for forgive-
ness to God. Then he began to ask everyone around him for forgiveness, as the tears streamed
down his reddened face.

The pride and arrogance were slowly disappearing. The "legend" of the man was shrinking. And amazingly, the more he asked for forgiveness, the more the Giant Hand began to shrink too. As the legend of the man and his pride began to shrink, likewise did the Giant Hand. Soon, the shell of a once proud and arrogant man lay upon the grass, replaced by a repentant and sorrowful man,
who was never meant to be a leader in the first place. And the Giant Hand, and it's legend were
now gone, having shrunk into nothingness. And the repentant Leaders and the others went and
picked George up and led him back into his bungalow. And the people began to pack for their long journey home.

*******************************************************************************
Of course, this was all a fairy tale, and the way I would like to see things end. Who knows? Nothing is impossible with God. Maybe George really will repent one day.


The author would like to thank Brad Pitt, who played the part of Skippy, Al Pacino, who played the part of Herbert, and Sean Penn, who played the part of James.

JAMES: (pulling up in a brand new Mercedes) "Herbert, let's get down to the yacht right away, there are some T-Bone steaks waiting for us".
Herbert: (getting in car) "Off we go. By the way, where's Skippy?"
JAMES: "Oh, he's off to New York. He got a job there."

IN NEW YORK:
SKIPPY: "Gee, Thankth mithter Trump. I alwayth wanted to be your athithtant".
TRUMP: "Your welcome Skippy. Hey, what you got in that backpack?"

THE END

[sfortescue]

All's well that ends well. 

[summer007]

This was really a tear jerker...I do hope GG gets it right, maybe he will one day...Summer.