CONFRONTATION WITH GODLY TRUTH

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

The weary soldiers advanced on the town. They wore the uniforms of the Israeli army. The shelling of their tanks had stopped and most of the buildings they approached had been gutted. Their job now was to make sure there was no further threat. Each man knew he could not afford to allow any member of Hezbollah to escape. They knew if any of the enemy escaped they would only face them again.

 

Ben had been in the Israeli army for two years. He had proved his courage and bravery over and over again. He hoped to make a career in the armed forces. Currently his unit was deployed to clear out this small town that had been infested by Hezbollah terrorists. The tanks and artillery had decimated the buildings and structures, but a few tenacious Hezbollah always managed to survive. These survivors often took sniper shots at Israeli soldiers as they advanced. His job was to clear his section of the town with the men assigned to him.

 

Ben advanced with his unit. He ordered them to spread out in groups of three and check out each building on the street they were assigned. Ben took two men with him and they cautiously advanced.

 

They were on their eighth structure when the incident happened. Saul took his turn entering the ground level first, Aaron followed and then Ben. Saul began checking the ground level rooms while Aaron advanced up the left stairwell, while Ben went up on the right. Ben finished climbing the stairs and began walking down the hallway checking rooms when he heard shots ring out on the ground.

 

He turned to investigate the origin of the shots when he felt the floor beneath him shake and shudder. He looked down at his feet and to his horror the floor buckled and gave way. He fell amidst concrete, splintered wood and metal piping to the ground level below. Dust enveloped him and he had difficulty breathing as the small particles of dirt and concrete coated his throat.

 

Ben waved his arms trying to clear the dust cloud that hampered his vision. He felt for his gun, found it, but noticed the barrel was bent. It was useless. As the dust settled he noticed another figure across the room. Was it Saul or Aaron? Saul had been on the ground floor. Had he managed to survive the building collapse? Maybe it was Aaron. Had he fallen through the floor as well? Then a cold chill ran down Ben’s spine as he realized who lay across the room. It was not one of his Israeli comrades. It was a member of the Hezbollah.

 

Ben reached for his knife as he carefully watched his enemy. The man across the room was struggling to get up using his rifle as a brace. He slowly rose to his feet and glanced over at Ben. Ben could see the hatred boil in the man’s eyes. He saw his adversary raise his gun. A metallic “click” echoed around the room, then another, and another. The gun was empty.

 

Ben struggled to get to his feet. This would be a hand-to-hand battle to the death with the enemy. Before either of them could make their next move a blinding light flashed in the middle of the room.

 

The brightness of the light was so staggering it caused both men to fall to the ground. Ben tried covering his eyes and noticed the man across the room was attempting to do the same. Neither of them could look at the light that glowed before them. It was brighter than the sun. Ben attempted to stand but some force held him pinned to the floor. Then he heard the voice. “Cease your striving with one another. The Lord God does not wish you to die a useless death.”

 

Ben heard the man across the room say, “Are you a messenger sent by Mohammed?” Ben also wondered who this angelic being was. Was it an angel of the Lord? Ben spoke to the being, “Who are you? Are you an angel of God?”

 

“I am an angel sent from the Most Holy Lord God.”

 

“Are you here to protect me from my enemy?” Ben suggested.

 

“Kill the Jew!” shouted the Hezbollah soldier to the angel.

 

“I am not here to kill either of you. I have been sent to encourage you to make peace.”

 

“There can be no peace!” yelled Ben’s enemy.

 

“I beg to differ.” replied the angel. “Both of you are committed to your belief in God.”

 

The angel looked at Ben and said, “You believe in the God of the Old Testament.”

 

The angel looked over at the Hezbollah soldier and said, “And you believe in the prophet Mohammed and Allah.”

 

Both soldiers waited for the angel to continue.

 

“But neither of you are correct because neither of you have accepted Jesus Christ, God’s One and Only Son, as your Lord and Savior.”

 

Ben grew angry. “You mean the Jesus the Christians talk of all the time. The false teacher in their New Testament?”

 

The Hezbollah soldier chimed in as well. “Jesus Christ was but one of many prophets of God, Mohammed was the last such prophet and gave us the final revelation concerning what we are to know of God and His will.”

 

The angel first responded to Ben. “I speak of the Son of God, Jesus the Christ. He was not a false teacher. He was God in the flesh born of a virgin as prophesied in the Old Testament. God desires His Chosen People to recognize Jesus as the true Messiah.”

 

It was hard for Ben to answer. How could he deny the presence of a Heavenly angel, a messenger of God?

 

Next the angel turned to the member of the Hezbollah. “Your prophet Mohammed spoke blasphemy. He degraded the name of Jesus and rejected His gospel of salvation.”

 

The two soldiers were silent. They gazed at each other then back at the angel. What could they say? There was no argument against the miraculous presence of a messenger of God.

 

The angel waited for them to contemplate what had been said, then continued.

 

“Both of you and your races need to repent and receive Jesus as your Lord and King. You must recognize Jesus Christ as God in the flesh. Your must leave this building and think of your own personal choice as well as the choice of your people. Will you seek the one and only true God?”

 

The angel looked Ben squarely in the eye, “Ben, will you hide in your Jewish tradition and reject your Messiah that has already come?”

 

The angel looked over at the Hezbollah soldier. “And you Hamal, will you be willing to seek the true God rather than one defined by Mohammed who rejected Christ as the Savior of all mankind?”

 

The men looked at each other again. The angel continued.

 

“Each of you has a choice to make. Choose wisely.”

 

There was a bright flash of light and the angel disappeared.

 

Ben and Hamal looked at one another.

 

What would they do? Would they personally accept Christ as their Savior? Would they carry the message of the angel back to their families, friends and comrades? Or would they seek to destroy each other in the name of their historical causes?

 

Only God knows……..

 

Hebrews 7:24-26

“Because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Such a High Priest meets our need – One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”