Revelation Too

Bernard sat in his usual spot at his usual table in the soup kitchen, gazing absently at a mediocre rendition of “The Last Supper” that someone with good intentions but less talent had painted on the wall. He sat next to Marie, a divorced mother of two.
He was surprised from his reverie when Jesus stood from the painted table on the wall, toppling it over; the table with its shiny silken cloth falling right out of the picture frame and onto the floor of the soup kitchen with a cascade of utensils, dishes, glasses. Bernard jumped up. Jesus’s eyes met his and Bernard fell to his knees, averting his eyes from the intense gaze of the Savior. Bernard felt hands on his face, gently urging him to lift his head. He opened his eyes and it was Jesus there with him, his hands now on his shoulders, Jesus standing and helping Bernard to his feet.
Jesus spoke, “You know of course that I am with my father. This is not really happening; yet, you know that it is real. Since I am with my father, you know, as I told my Disciples ages ago, that you have to be my body to act in the world until I return, which, will be quite soon now. And, because time is short, I am helping you from the get-go by appointing your disciples and letting them know up front that you are the leader, because you have been the best servant to all. Don’t let the position go to your head. As I also am telling your disciples, you will have the help of the Holy Spirit. Time is short; get to it! I love you!”
With that Revelation Too begins with five people sitting at a table and one server from the local church. These people form a group they call “The Table,” modeled loosely on the “Knights of the Round Table,” and set out to fulfill their commission.
As they begin their work, they attract more people to their cause, with each addition to their group adding new gifts to their body and together they accomplish great things. Le Roi, an ex-convict, brings knowledge of the street and a genius of almost superhero proportion, his band of brothers, and his strangely equipped SUV called the Dark Angel.
Daniel, by following the urgings of the Spirit, and not acting according to the anger and hatred that motivated him in the past, wins over a powerful enemy who is invaluable in their work. Evil is used for good purpose.
To Raul’s surprise the guy coughed and his eyes fluttered. Raul was afraid of what the floor was doing and said, “Hey, buddy, don’t move, just lie there.” The floor bumped to a stop and suddenly the guy rolled off of it and the platform started up again. Raul jumped off too and found himself in a sort of basement under the stage.
When the guy rolled off, he had groaned and Raul asked, “Where are you hit?”
“Not sure. Feels like someone took a baseball bat to my ribs…”
Raul flipped out his rescue knife and in a quick pass opened the guy’s shirt. There was a huge crucifix with a bullet mushroomed and fused to its center, right through the center of the body of Jesus, the whole cross cupped inward where it held the bullet. He flipped the cross and exposed a red imprint of it in the center of the guy’s chest. He flicked the blade closed and replaced the knife and saw the tension leave the guy’s body—“Oh, s***, man,” Raul said, “I wasn’t gonna cut you! Should have told you. Sorry, man.”
The guy gave him another weak smile, “Never know…what…” he coughed again. “I have asthma.”
“I’ll bet you do!” laughed Raul. “Forty caliber asthma. What’s your name, Forty Cal?”
“Daniel—Dan.”
“Well, Daniel Dan, Daniel San, you are one lucky m****f****.”
“Not lucky—blessed.”
“Whatever. Well, I gotta see what’s going on upstairs. You stay here and I’ll get the EMT’s to check you out.” He started to leave.
“What’s your name?” Daniel asked.
“My name? It’s Raul.” He pronounced it “Ra-ool.”
“Raul. Glad to meet you. Did the leader, forgot his name…did he live?”
“Oh, yeah, sure. No damage to him at all. Never is.”
“Good. I shouldn’t have doubted. Good.”
Raul started to walk away and then turned back.
“Man…Daniel…I have to know—Why would you, a white guy, a Christian—why would you jump in front of a bullet intended to kill a guy who hates both whites and Christians. You knew that, didn’t you?”
“Oh, yes, I knew that.”
“How could you trade your life to save his? Why would you do such a thing?”
“Because he is my brother, whether he hates me or not. And whether he loves Jesus Christ, or not, Jesus loves him. Jesus sent me to save his life. The God that Jesus honors is a God of love and God so loved the world that he sent Jesus to be an example to us and to die for us.”
Shaking his head, Raul disappeared and Daniel climbed to his feet.

Yossele, a soulless being, is taken under God’s wing:
[Jehudah] thought the creature was rather handsome—he had modeled its features after his own, and smiled when he thought that in fact, in comparison, if anything, the creature’s features of clay were more refined than his own; his own being somewhat rough, the noise more bulbous, the lips slightly thicker, the eyelids heavier, the cheeks puffier, the brow more furrowed and lower. He had used cadaver bones as the frame, hanging sinews and knitting them together, then encasing it all in miry clay and crowning it with hair taken from his own, embedding each strand in the clay skin covering the skull, and lastly, the eyebrows and eyelashes from hair from his own face. The creature would never have a beard or sideburns, but that was unnecessary, as it would not have a soul and would not have to abide by the law.
Jehudah had carefully written the 16 names of God, the shem, on a small piece of vellum and placed it in a phylactery which he tied over the creature’s forehead to hide the Hebrew word emet, “reality,” carefully carved into the brow, so he could take its life away when he desired, once the golem was animated, by simply removing the initial aleph to make the word met—“dead.”
The creature was much larger and more muscular than Jehudah was, or ever had been, appropriate for the servant he was intended to be….

David, who feels that his life is over, finds redemption and a new life:
David found himself standing on the cliff below the burnt-out husk of Hawthorn House, looking out to sea, and feeling as lost as the little boy when he watched the ore boats disappear over the horizon on Lake Michigan on a summer vacation.

The susurration of the dark waters now lured him with their seductive promise of peace. So easy to let gravity take over. So easy…”Do it…do it…do it…do it…do it” the wave and the winds were whispering. He looked up at the sky, arms outstretched, ready for my final flight, as he shouted “Take me too, you son-of-a-bitch!”