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The
Gates of Heaven
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Oliver Mbamara
Mr. Merchant was so upset by the way things were going on in the world that he decided to consult with God for what has to be done to bring peace to the world. Mr. Merchant felt that the people of the earth have gone very much astray. He was convinced that something had to be done to stem the tide of what he figured was the evils of men in today’s society. However, he faced a problem. There were so many religions and schools of thought that he did not know which one was the right one that could bring him quickest to the chambers of God.
Determined to find a way, Mr. Merchant set out on a sincere journey. After a long search, the closest he came to God was a pass to visit a holy terrace next to the kingdom of God. He was told that he would obtain a ticket to the gates of heaven from the holy terrace. Glad that he now knew where to buy a ticket that would take him through the gates of heaven, and ultimately to consult with God, Mr. Merchant gladly proceeded. As he approached the terrace, he could see what appeared to be a crowd. There were noises coming from chattering voices and clattering items. As he continued to approach, the noise got louder. Baffled, Mr. Merchant paused to observe the scene and make sure he was right about what he was seeing. He had expected a serene place with beautiful pasture and landscapes, and perhaps a bearded man at the gate to usher him through, but he was mistaken. What he saw could well be described as a market place, more like the floor of a stock market.
There were several tables with people calling on others to buy a ticket from them. There were touts and middlemen all over the place, descending on newcomers and visitors in order to convince them to buy a ticket. “Get your ticket here, get your ticket now!” some called out. “Get the best ticket here! Straight to heaven! Straight through the gates of heaven!” others called. Each trader performed one trick or the other to convince the aspiring buyers to buy from him. Mr. Merchant was so disappointed in the setup, but as a clever merchant, he quickly appreciated the lucrative nature of the ticket-trader-business. After giving it a short thought, Mr. Merchant quickly recruited one of the touts and instantly set up his own ticket-trader table. He hoped that with such a table, he could have his own tickets and therefore an easy access to God anytime he wanted while at the same time making the business profit. Killing two birds with one stone, he thought.
When Mr. Merchant had set up his ticket-trader-business, and obtained a table, he grabbed a ticket that will help him cross the gates of heaven. As he made it towards the gate, he was again disappointed to see several entities holding off the crowd of visitors besieging the gate of the Kingdom of God. “What is this, another ticket table?” he asked himself aloud. Something seemed eerie about the atmosphere, but curiosity dragged him on. His approach was quickly met by some sinister-creature beyond description surrounded by some his servants. Mr. Merchant found himself following a compelling power so hard to resist. In a moment, he was sitting in a strange but awe-inspiring court. There was something majestic about the set up.
The sinister-creature then queried Mr. Merchant. “What brings you here, human?” the creature asked in a rumbling voice. Overwhelmed by the influence of the sinister-creature, Mr. Merchant stated his case and how he had started off with a quest to save the world. After a brief demonstration in which the sinister-creature convinced Mr. Merchant that he was God, the sinister-creature commended Mr. Merchant for his initial thoughts about saving the world. The sinister-creature then showed Mr. Merchant a vision that displayed an incredible accumulation of material acquisitions. “All this wealth including an immeasurable amount of power and pleasure will all be yours if you would loyally embark on a redeemer-of-the-world project for me.” Said the sinister-creature. “And in addition, you will be reserved a place in my Kingdom,” added the sinister-creature.
A part of Mr. Merchant was not quite comfortable with what was going on; yet, another part of Mr. Merchant was caught up in the enticing offers of the sinister-creature and easily believed that the sinister-creature was God. “I will take the offer,” Mr. Merchant accepted. The sinister-creature then gave him the power to go back to the world and set up a religion and win people over. Believing that he served the Almighty God, Mr. Merchant set out against those who did not believe his teachings. He encouraged his followers to use force to win followers and even kill whoever stood in their way. He refused to tolerate other beliefs or theories about God.
To boost his business, Mr. Merchant convinced his followers that if they died while serving him and his religion, they would be given a one-way ticket through the gates of heaven and into the Kingdom of God. Subsequently, many of his followers went about killing others or taking their own lives on behalf of the religion. However, after they died and crossed over, they were not given any tickets through the gates of heaven. Of course, not even the sinister-creature had the keys to the gates of heaven or the kingdom of God. Many of the deceived followers wanted to come back to earth and expose the deceit but having crossed over into the land of the holy terrace, they were unable to take up life again in the physical world. The sinister-creature held most of them captives, while those who returned to earth, returned as new born babies without any memories of what happened in their past lives. Every now and then flashes of their past lives or their experiences in the land of the holy terrace came to these reborn individuals as dreams, visions, or nightmares.
Though the sinister-creature continued its reign and deceit through the use of some religions, the true path to God continued to exist, and the masters of the true path continued to deliver the keys of the gates of heaven to seekers of truth, using dreams, visions, expansion of consciousness, and realization. The true path even continued to show its followers how to visit heaven or be in heaven even as they lived on earth. This was to the chagrin of the sinister-creature. To prevent people from finding the keys to the gates of heaven, and from continuing with the true path, the sinister-creature continued to recruit more workers like Mr. Merchant who in turn have continued to recruit more followers on earth. The battle has continued till this day.
©Oliver
O. Mbamara, 2003
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Oliver Mbamara is an Administrative Law Judge
with the State of New York. He is also a filmmaker and a Published Poet
and playwright. For more on Oliver, please visit www.olivermbamara.com
For
background/research reference on this piece, click on this link
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