Chapter 10

‘It says here the woman is clothed with sun. If you analyze it geographically, it’s a place somewhere where there is sunshine all year round and it is hot. And the places could be found along the equatorial line.’ Gisele read aloud the verse, as she rolled the globe.

‘The following verse gives us the next clue of the location. It says that the moon on her feet and the crown of 12 stars on her head…’ She ran her finger along the equator line and stopped at a tiny red dot that indicated Singapore. ‘See the crescent shape like islands of Indonesia? From a distance they look like the crescent moon. And the crown on her head…that’s Peninsular Malaysia – West Malaysia.’ She circled the two countries with her finger. ‘And Singapore is the country located right smack along the equator, sandwiched between the two.’ she concluded.

‘But the verse says a crown of 12 stars…’ Joseph pointed out.

‘The stars refer to the states of Peninsular Malaysia. Here’s where I got stuck. When I counted the map of West Malaysia, there are only eleven states instead of twelve. The East Malaysia consists of two more states of Malaysia – Sabah and Sarawak. But they cannot be taken into account as they are not on the “crown” of the woman – Singapore. When I prayed about it, I received the word that once the twelfth star appears, which means the twelfth state that would join Peninsular Malaysia, that’s when the male child is born, and that…is when Revelation 12 begins.’ she said somberly. She turned around and found him frowning in concentration. He walked away and made a beeline for the computer station.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked. She, puzzled by his sudden change in behavior, followed him to the computer and watched him as he conducted a search on the internet.

‘Though I am a Malaysian…I’m not really sure, but I think the twelfth state had already appeared.’ His eyes searched the pages as his right hand moved the computer mouse furiously.

‘What do you mean by that? That there were already twelve states?’ she asked. He did not reply and kept his eyes fixed on the computer screen. Gisele stood behind him and watched him worked.

‘Oh here it is… From 31 January 1948 to 16 September 1963, there are 11 states that form the Federation of Malaya. They included the nine Malay states and the two British settlements of Penang and Malacca. The name Federation of Malaya was later changed to “Malaysia” which also included the then British crown colonies of Singapore, Sabah (British North Borneo) and Sarawak. Singapore was a Malaysian state from the formation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963 until it separated from the Federation on 9 August 1965… ’ Joseph read aloud from the article “History of Malaysia” which he found on the Internet.

‘Which means…there were 14 states of Malaysia from 16 September 1963 onwards…’ she mumbled to herself.

‘And if we take Sabah and Sarawak out because they are on the east and not the “crown” of Singapore, then the “crown” would have 12 states, with Singapore being the twelfth! Singapore was the twelfth star mentioned in Revelation 12!’ Gisele said excitedly. 

The new revelation opened a floodgate of questions. In the quiet stillness of the library, the implication of discovery hung over them like a ton of bricks.

‘Which means…the man child that Revelation 12 is talking about has already been born…’ she said quietly.

‘But how would we know who it is? I mean, there are thousands of babies born during that time.’ He turned around and faced her.

She continued, ‘The male child in Revelation 12 is no ordinary person, he is going to “rule the world with an iron scepter” mentioned in Revelation 12 verse 5. Who could it be?’

‘I guess we will never find out. Looks like we are back to square one. Anyway, this is all a hypothetical. ’ Joseph brushed it off.

‘I’m sure the clues are in the numerical indication. In the bible, God uses numbers as a language to communicate his secrets to us. Like the number 3 represents the triune God – divine perfection, 7 stands for totality of perfection – completeness, number 6 stands for man etc. Number 12 signifies the government of the universe. There were 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles, 12 months in a year. God says when the 12th star appears, the male child who will rule or govern the world is born. If we can match the numbers of this child’s birthdate, which is between 16 September 1963 to 9 August 1965, we can find the child!’ Gisele reasoned.

‘Yes, but how would you ever know the exact day that the male child was born? Don’t forget there would have been hundreds of thousands of babies born in that period all over the world.’ he said skeptically. ‘And what about the nationality of the man-child?’

‘If the woman mentioned in Revelation 12 is Singapore and the woman gives birth to the man child then, he could be born in Singapore! Most likely he is a Singaporean unless this child changed his nationality and moved somewhere. It also says here that that the male child is going to rule…so this child must have certain leadership skills or maybe even a leader. He could even be a politician! If so, he should be a well-known figure and we can find him easily!’ Gisele said excitedly.

Joseph sighed. He was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Singapore was the epicenter where Revelation 12 all began. But why Singapore? It was a small country with no natural resources. Its economic strength was built up over years only through the smart choices made by the government leadership. But other than that, it was just a small red dot on the world map. This little red dot is going to fight the enormous red dragon?

‘Okay…let’s not get too excited. Whatever you just said, was purely hypothetical…we don’t know anything for sure.’ He put his hand up.

She shook her head defiantly. ‘I’m very sure that Singapore is the woman. God showed it to me.’

‘Don’t take it the wrong way. I’m not envious of you or anything. But why would God tell you all these? Instead of the bishop or…or the pope?’

‘I don’t know…I would like to know too.’ Gisele shrugged. She wasn’t sure why God would choose to reveal the mysteries of Revelation 12 to her. ‘Maybe I am born on the 12th June? Or maybe, I’m crazy enough to believe in this and take the trouble to find this child?’

Chapter 8

Cont’d…Revelation 12:1 – “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.”

She got up and paced around the room. 12 stars…moon… woman clothed with the sun… She stopped in front of her dressing table and stared at her reflection. Then something caught her eye. She turned around and looked at the map of the world on her bedroom wall. The map was so big that it covered half of her wall. She stood there and stared hard at the map. Then she noticed the thick black equatorial line across the map.

Clothed with the sun. Suddenly at that moment, she saw an open vision: the black equator line burst into flames as the 2-D map on her wall morphed into a globe. She found herself staring at the ring of fire encircling the globe! Her heart pounded faster as she pieced everything together; connecting the bible verse and vision before her. Clothed with the sun is where the sun is always shining. The woman is referring to a country. Therefore it’s a country where the equatorial line meets!

CHAPTER 9

Gisele’s intense gaze locked on the world map before her, her mind reeling with the adrenaline rush from discovery. She traced the equator line with her finger, drawing an invisible line across Brazil, Africa, Kenya, Somalia and Singapore. So many countries, which one is the woman? She returned to the bible and re-read the passage.

Rev 12:1 – “A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.”

Under her feet, a moon and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She took a step back and studied the map. The equator cut across three continents of the world: South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. As she scanned from left to right again, she saw that South America and Africa were two big pieces of land. That left her with Southeast Asia. Taking a closer look, Gisele noticed right under the island of Singapore was a cluster of Indonesian islands which from a distance did resemble the shape of a crescent moon. She looked up Singapore. The country directly above it was Malaysia.

‘It doesn’t look like the crown…hang on…’ She mumbled to herself. ‘What are the small red dots on the map of Malaysia?’ Upon a closer look, the red dots represented the different states of Malaysia. Could they be the twelve states which represent the stars that the bible was talking about? A crown of twelve stars on her head…Based on the map, West Malaysia is located on top of Singapore…If West Malaysia has twelve states and Indonesia is the moon under her feet…that makes Singapore the woman! Her heart beat faster as she began counting the red dots on the map of Malaysia. 1,2,3…9, 10. 11…where’s the 12th? Frustrated, she counted again. There were only eleven. No doubt about it. Maybe I’m wrong.

She pulled back and studied the map once again, seeing if there was another country that fit the description. However, none of the countries, South America or Africa, found along the equator line fit the description “moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head” except Singapore. Her eyes would always return to the island of Singapore Why? Where did I go wrong? Disappointed, she asked God silently in her heart.

‘It must be Singapore right? I know it is. But why are there only 11 states, not 12? Did I hear wrongly?’ she asked disappointedly. She called out to God in her heart again. This time The Voice responded to her.

‘The time when West Malaysia has one more state is the time when the 12th star appears, making a total of twelve states. That would be the time when Singapore will be pregnant and the male child shall born on earth. When that happens, it would signify the beginning of Revelation 12.’

The Voice spoke into her right ear. She was stunned. She stood there for a long time, trying to process the new information. Singapore…the woman…pregnant…the twelfth state of Malaysia…Is Malaysia going to have a war or internal split so there will be another state to form the twelfth? My God! This is so exciting! And I am part of it…I can’t believe it! A wave of excitement came over her. She couldn’t wait to see what would happen and which political figure would come out of Singapore when that happened. When the 12th star appears, the male child who will rule the whole world with an iron scepter will be born!

The Voice spoke again, ‘You are to find the male child.’

Chapter 8

It was summertime in Beijing. The air was warm and dry. Gisele saw herself riding an old bicycle next to her mother’s in the middle of a wide road, as they both made their way to work. They didn’t seem to care as cars and motorcycles whizzed past them and continued to their way, only to stop at the traffic junction between the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. While waiting for the lights to turn green, Gisele looked around and it was then was she surprised to find themselves the only ones on bicycles. The traffic light turned green and Gisele instructed her mother to turn left. As her mother made a left turn, a white van dashed out from the opposite direction and sped towards their direction! It was too late to pull her mother back. Gisele could feel the wind on her face as the white van sped past her. The van zoomed past them and brushed by her mother on her right side, nearly missing her by a few inches. Startled, her mother lost control of the bicycle and fell over. By the time Gisele wanted to catch the face of the driver of the van, the van had disappeared into the sea of traffic. She turned her attention to her mother who was on the ground, struggling to get up.  She quickly got down and helped her mother up.

Just as they picked up their bicycles and dust off the dirt from their clothes, two imperial guards came up to them. The guards were covered in metal with breastplates on their chests and each carried a spear in their right hands like the knights in ancient days. Both were tall and cut an imposing figure with their steely exterior.

‘Our Queen would like to invite you to the palace for a visit.’ One of the guards spoke. Gisele tried to make out his face behind his steel helmet, but his features were concealed behind the cold silvery façade. She looked at her watch. She turned to her mother and said, ‘We still have some time. We can go.’ So they followed the guards, pushing their bicycles along and cutting through the heavy traffic on route towards the palace.

When they approached the palace entrance, the atmosphere changed almost immediately. It was as if they had left the hustle and bustle of the busy streets and entered into another world; a more placid environment where the air was cool and fresh. Willows swayed as fallen leaves danced harmoniously in whatever direction the wind carried them. Sounds of rustling leaves and whispering of the breeze teased the ears and soothed the weary travellers.

Fronting the entrance of the palace was a huge double fold door in the majestic hue of red and was adorned with rows and rows of pure gold studs. It was about 6 metres high and 4 metres wide. Flanking either side of the door were concrete walls made up of red slabs of boulders stacked high to 10 metres which stretched so far that her eyes could not see where the walls ended. The palace resided right behind the strong walls.

The door groaned opened and revealed a woman standing before them. ‘She must be the Queen’, Gisele thought to herself. Clothed in red from top to toe, the Queen’s dress was made of rich organza. She wore a bustier that accentuated her small waist contrasted against the big skirt which swept the ground gently as she walked. At the back of her dress was an elaborate fan-like structure that extended upwards from her shoulders to above her head, framing her feline face. Gisele noticed that the colours on the Queen’s body were so rich that she looked more like a character out of an animation movie.

Nevertheless, standing at 1.7 metres tall, the Queen cut a regal figure with her poise and elegant silhouette. The Queen smiled at them. She looked rather affable, though Gisele sensed a hint of arrogance beneath her equanimity facade. ‘Please come in,’ she said in a friendly but measured voice. She stretched out her hand to welcome them into the palace.

Gisele and her mother pushed their bicycles and followed the Queen as she gave them a tour of the palace. ‘This is where we host our guests.’ The Queen announced as they entered into the ballroom. The ballroom was beyond luxurious to a grandiose scarlet effect. Persian carpets in deep burgundy colour lined the floor. Right in the middle of the room, a rich ruby-coloured curtain made of velvet flowed from the ceiling. The ceiling was about four storeys high from the floor. The curtain was fastened in the middle with a huge ribbon. Gisele was amazed at the quality of the fabric used around the palace. The cushion on the furniture was made of soft crimson suede which caressed the skin with every touch. High chairs were strategically placed around the room to facilitate socializing among the guests. It was architect at its epitome; Western interior juxtaposed seamlessly with the Oriental exterior.

Throughout the tour of the palace, Gisele found it strange that the Queen and the two guards were the only people they met during the whole time. There were no other guards or servants or even a pet in the palace. Her thoughts were momentarily disrupted by the Queen. ‘Let me bring you to the back yard.’ the Queen said and led them into a garden via another pathway. As they reached the middle of garden, Gisele saw a very thin pole with a square cross section of about 6 by 6 centimetres rising up from the ground to about 10 metres high. The pole could have been longer considering that it was embedded in the ground with no base to support it.

In a blink of an eye, Gisele found herself at a balcony overlooking the very garden which they were in a second ago. Gisele looked around. She had no idea how they got from the garden, to the balcony where they were standing. From the balcony she could see the top of the pole where it was supporting a miniature wooden house that looked like letterbox. The house was that of a perfect cube about 15 centimetres all around, topped with a triangular roof. The house and its roof were painted in red, just like the rest of the furniture in the palace. For some strange reason, Gisele knew at once that the colour red represented evil. As Gisele drew close to study the little house, she noticed a tiny golden key hole located on the front wall near the rooftop. The key hole was no bigger than 5 millimetres in diameter. The Queen stretched out her right hand towards Gisele and on the tip of her forefinger rested a miniature skeleton key no bigger than a drop of water, made of pure gold. The key had delicate designs on it. Gisele remembered seeing such designs on Tiffany’s oval key pendant.

‘In this box are treasures of the world that many are looking for. Now…they are yours.’ The Queen proclaimed to her, extending her the invitation to take the key and open up the box. Gisele looked at the key, glistering in the sun, enticing her with its golden glow. But Gisele was not the least interested. It was then Gisele suddenly remembered that it was time for her to head back to work.

She shook her head. ‘No thanks. My mother and I have to go. We are late for work.’ Gisele politely declined the Queen. The Queen narrowed her eyes in displeasure. Sensing the rising vehemence in the Queen, Gisele pushed her bicycle and signaled her mother to do the same. As they pushed their bicycles to leave, the Queen stepped forward and intercepted them. She cocked her head and glanced sideways at Gisele, her face filled with hauteur and edginess.

‘These are the treasures of the world, treasures that the world is looking for. You really don’t want it?’ the Queen asked Gisele again, her tone dripped with condescension.

‘No, thanks. We need to go.’ Gisele politely declined and pushed her bicycle out of the Queen’s way, with her mother following closely behind. As Gisele was walking out of the Queen’s presence, she noticed something was happening to her. Gisele looked down and saw her tummy began to swell. Her tummy continued to grow until she looked like she was about six months along. It was then Gisele knew that she was pregnant.

Gisele woke up staring up at the ceiling. The clock in the hall showed 4 am in the morning. A dull ache spread across her body as she struggled to get up, trying to shake off the sluggishness from a fitful sleep. The couch provided little comfort for a night’s sleep. She shuffled her feet to the kitchen and switched on the lights to the bathroom. As she stood in front of the sink, her thoughts went back to the dream that had invaded her sleep. What was it about? Who is the Queen?

‘Go read Revelations 12.’ The Voice spoke into her right ear. She frowned. Again? But I’ve read it so many times. Does the dream have anything to do with Revelation 12? She hastily splashed her face with cold water to wake herself up and she hurried to her room.  She climbed onto her bed and opened up the bible to Revelation 12.

1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.

The image of the Queen flashed before her. The Queen was wearing red. Dragon symbolizes power and supremacy in Chinese traditions. So the Queen and the red dragon are the same thing? If the Queen was residing in the Forbidden City, does that mean that the red dragon is in Beijing? How’s Beijing related to Revelation 12? What about the seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns? What do they mean? Are they supposed to represent leaders or countries? Are these people supposed to collaborate with Beijing? Unable to figure out any answers, she read on.

7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

What was the war about? And if the dragon is Satan, does it mean that Satan is going to be in Beijing or he had something to do with Beijing? Is Beijing going to start a war and lose the battle?

Gisele read from the top of the passage again carefully. She couldn’t understand what “a third of the twelve stars being flung down to earth” meant. Is the earth referring to this world or something else?

Gisele took out a large piece of paper and began writing random phrases from Revelations 12 and short descriptions of her dreams. When she finished, she drew lines to connect the words. Red Dragon – Queen, Satan – Beijing – Serpent, Michael’s army – War and so on. When she was done, she took a step back and studied the canopy of words. The only phrases left which were not linked to anything were, “Woman” and “Pregnant”. Then she remembered her dream ended when she left the palace pregnant. She wrote her name on the paper and linked the word “Woman” and “Pregnant” with her name.

Gisele stared at the paper before her. Was I the Woman? Am I going to be pregnant? Her heart raced with excitement as she took up the bible and re-read Revelations 12.

The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

A male Child? So I’m going to have a son? Then Satan would be after me and I had to seek refuge in a desert. But why 1,260 days? She divided 1,260 by 30 days and she got three and a half years. She stopped there because she couldn’t figure out anything significant with that number.

The more she thought about it, the more baffled she became, but it was too intriguing for her to stop. Besides once she started on something, she would pursue relentlessly until she achieved her goal.  

She tried to recall her dream about the palace. She suddenly remembered the huge doors at the palace entrance. They looked very familiar. Where had she seen them before? Did I pass by the Forbidden City when I was in Beijing? She thought hard about the places she had visited in Beijing. No…I only passed by the Tiananmen Square. She couldn’t remember if she saw the same door at Tiananmen Square or if the door was opened and that was why she couldn’t remember.

She took out a pencil and paper and began sketching the door that she saw in her dream. As she drew the golden studs on the door, she remembered she saw the same door in a dream when she was nine years old. It was in the dream of heaven where the Man brought her to a house. The door of the house looked exactly like the one she saw at the palace entrance with same Chinese two-leaved (double) door and had a pair of iron ring knockers with the images of lion on it.

Besides the double fold door, both dreams had something else in common. In the previous dream, the Man told her that he had some work for her to do. In the latest dream about the Queen, she was rushing off to work before she was invited into the palace by the Queen.

The concept of work also appeared in the trilogy dream about the book of Revelations. In the three dreams, she was cycling to work on a bicycle, going through the garden every day. God, what is this work that you are trying to tell me? She wrote down: Work – the doors of Forbidden City – Dragon. What is the connection between the work and Forbidden City? She gathered that the best way to go to find out more about the Forbidden City. Gisele sat down by her study table and opened up her laptop. She went on to the Internet and typed “Forbidden City” in the search engine and found the information she wanted.

According to the Internet, the Forbidden City was built when Zhudi, the second emperor of Ming Dynasty, decided to move the capital from Nanjing to Beijing in 1406. Hence the Forbidden City was built from 1406 to 1420. Since then, the Forbidden City became the Chinese imperial palace until the end of the Qing Dynasty. After functioning as the residence for twenty-four emperors and their households for more than five hundred years, the Forbidden City now serves as the palace museum which houses a great collection of Chinese antiques, art and jewelry. The collection would have been more impressive, had it not been for the fact that a part of the collection was selected to be moved to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War in 1948.

There were a lot more information about the Forbidden City, but she found nothing that could help her. She relooked at the verse in Revelation 12 verse 10 onwards, trying to get some clues.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death…

She wondered who was “the accuser” that was mentioned in the bible. Could it be Satan? Most probably. She knew that the Lamb represents Jesus which meant that the only way to defeat “the accuser” was by the blood and the word…the word of her testimony. Dread filled her heart when she thought of going around telling people about God. People who knew her already thought she was crazy. She was definitely not one of those who “did not love their lives so much to shrink from death.” No way was she going to die for God in that way.

12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

The earth again…now the sea is in the picture. Could they be referring to an epidemic global warming? If so this whole chapter was not talking about the past but the future! Now that made sense to her. The book of Revelations was indeed writing about the future because she wasn’t pregnant now. She wouldn’t be able to give birth to a male child until the father of her child appeared. She continued to read the rest of the chapter.
 
Revelation 12
13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

When Gisele read the last verse about the woman’s offspring, she thought about her dream about the Queen. In the dream, after her mother and her left the palace, she became pregnant. Pregnancy could symbolise many things; such as a new beginning or the birth of an era. She only hoped that it was not referring to an actual pregnancy, for she could not imagine herself becoming a sow for the kingdom of God.

Gisele flipped to the first chapter of the book of Revelation. Apart from chapter 12, she had not seriously read any chapters in the book of Revelation. She decided that if she was going to be part of the plan in Chapter 12, it would be good to know the full picture by reading the book of Revelations from the beginning.
By day break, she finished the entire book of Revelation. However chapter 1 made no sense to her and so were the rest of book of Revelation. She did feel more connected the author – the apostle John, one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, who was given the task of writing the last book of the bible. She couldn’t understand how John was able to live with something so bizarre and absurd. Whatever he saw couldn’t have made sense to him, just like the dreams she had.

The more she read the book of Revelation, the more she wanted to know more about apostle John and so she turned to read the gospel of John, hoping to gain some insight on this man.

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.  

All it took was the first verse of the gospel to stupefy her. It was all too confusing. Frustrated and exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before, she gave up. She would never be able to figure this out in a million years and as far as she was concerned in life, it is not what you know but who you know. And she just happened to know the one person who could help her. She picked up her phone and called Lucas.

It was an idyllic Saturday and Lucas worked on alternate Saturdays. On his Saturday off, he made it a point to sleep in and wake up no earlier than 10 a.m., preferring to laze around at home or try out some new recipes. He was that kind of a home guy whom women couldn’t wait to bring home and whom mothers would have approved in a flash. With a successful practice and coming from such a prestigious family background, Gisele often wondered why he was still single. Whenever she asked him, he would evade the question. But she thought about it. If he was in a relationship now, she wouldn’t be able to call him and dragged him out for breakfast at 9 a.m.

‘What does it mean? How could the Word be in the beginning?’ she asked Lucas, who was sitting opposite her, sipping his latte and listening. He thoughtfully put down his latte and proceeded to explain, ‘This verse was referring to the beginning of times, before universe began.’

Gisele frowned. It was too profound for her. Seeing the uncertainty on her face, he flipped open his bible to the beginning page – Genesis.

‘Let me show you something. Here, it says – In the beginning God created heavens and earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters…’ He pointed it out to her.

‘Wait…did you just say that the earth was formless and empty?’ she cut in.

‘Not me, the bible.’

‘So it’s true that we came from nothing…’ She said to herself.

‘What?’ Now it was his turn to be baffled. The concept of nothingness was alien to him. But to Gisele it all made sense. Since young, she was told by her mother that everything came from nothingness. So that was true, based on what was written in the bible. It all made sense. The only missing link was God. She took the bible from him and read the next verse.

‘And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light…’
Her heart skipped a beat when she read that. ‘Here it was written that God “says”. Do you mean that God is only a Voice and I cannot see him?’ she asked excitedly.

‘Before I answer that, let’s read the rest first…God saw that light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness…’ He redirected her focus back to the bible.

‘How can God create light just by speaking it? Does it mean that He has a mouth like us?’ she persisted. It was apparent that he would not be able to continue any further unless he answered her questions. He put down the bible and clasped his hands.

‘We cannot fully comprehend God…not with our limited capacity. He is like light. He cannot enter into your heart unless you open the door of your life to him. He is like wind. You cannot see wind, but you can feel Him just like you feel the move of the wind. He cannot be defined by specifics. How do one fully grasp God when He created the universe by His word?’ he asked her.
‘I don’t understand…If He can communicate with us, it means that…He’s a being…He has a brain that could think, eyes that could see, a mouth that could speak or…maybe…maybe He could have more than one mouth or many eyes?’ Gisele asked.

‘I don’t know. Nobody has ever seen God face to face.’ He shrugged, ‘But there is a clue of what He may look like. It says here that – then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.’
‘Male and female? So the first man was an Aphrodite?’ she exclaimed in wonder.

‘What?’ Lucas was taken aback.

‘It says male and female he created them. Now I know why there are gays and lesbians. Most of us evolved to be pure male and pure female. But some reverted back to the first stage.’ she argued earnestly.

Lucas stared at her and was rendered speechless. Then he broke out in laughter. She looked on in puzzlement, totally not getting the joke. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he said ‘Why don’t you go back home and read Genesis first? Then we’ll talk more.’
‘But…, but I won’t be able to understand, unless you explain it to me.’ she protested.

‘The most difficult books are the first and the last because they are filled with supernatural events with many symbolisms. For someone who started reading from Revelation, what difference does it make? I think you’ll be fine. Just pray about it as you read and God would guide you.’ he jested. She wasn’t sure if it would be that simple as he made it to be.

‘Fine.’ she agreed reluctantly.

‘Great let me know how it goes. By the way can you sing?’

‘Of course. I’m an actress.’

‘Not all actresses can sing…’

‘You are right…Or act for that matter. What’s up?’

‘It’s the Hymn Festival.’ He finished up his coffee. She suddenly remembered Chong; he was the guy who was in charge of the decorations for Hymn Festival.

‘What about it?’ she asked.

‘See if you want to join the choir. We need help.’

‘Okay …’

‘Great, I’ll put you on the list…I have to go.’ he cut her off and got ready to leave.

‘So soon? I thought you are off today.’ she asked.

‘I’ve something on.’

Her ears pricked up in attention.

‘A date?’ she teased. That explained the jeans and the polo T-shirt instead of the usual crew neck T-shirts and baggy pants. He didn’t answer her.

‘Rehearsal. This Sunday.’ With that, he left. She was about to ask him about the choir uniform. She didn’t quite appreciate the “Sisters’ Act” garb that the choir wore for the service.  

The next day, Gisele went for the Sunday service as usual but stayed back after the service because of the rehearsal for The Hymns Festival. There was still some time before the choir practise, so she decided to explore the church compound; something which she had not done since her first visit two months ago.

She took one look around the main hall and her eyes zeroed in on a doorway at the back of the hall. She wondered where it led to. She went towards it and tried to open the door. It was locked. She sighed. There was a window next to it. She cupped her hands and peered inside the window. The interior was dark.

‘Looking for something?’ A male voice called out from behind startled Gisele. She turned around sharply and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the twinkle in Joseph’s eyes.

‘God, you scared me!’ she chided him.

‘Why should you be scared…unless you have something to hide?’

‘I wasn’t snooping if that’s what you are implying.’

‘I’d say nothing about that.’ he put his hands up in defence.

‘Whatever.’ she retorted and walked away.

‘So how are things?’ he asked following close behind her.

‘Well, I’m not sure…sometimes I’m so sick and tired of this whole dream stuff.’

‘Looks like somebody’s upset with God.’

‘I’m not!’ There was an irate edge in her voice. Joseph raised his eyebrows. He tilted his head and looked at sideways. She may be an actress but she can’t be acting all the time.

‘Ok…fine! A little.’ she confessed. She sat down on one of the benches. ‘I just don’t understand, why did He give me all these dreams and then changed His mind.’ she complained.

‘What’s wrong with changing His mind? He’s God.’

‘Ya right and He enjoys making a fool out of people.’

‘Is this about the tsunami in Sri Lanka?’

She looked away. He sat down beside her and patted her on her shoulders.

‘I see. It’s about you. Not about Him or the people He loves.’ He said poignantly. She turned to him with a look of surprise. She wasn’t sure what he meant.

‘But everything should be about Him and not you.’ He continued, ‘I remembered someone once said, ‘Who gives a damn about looking silly.’

She looked away. He was right. She had been egocentric and inward-looking. On the surface she had been championing about praying for Sri Lanka, but secretly she was seeking for the attention.  

‘I guess I was wrong about the whole thing.’

‘No, it was not about being right or wrong. It’s about doing what’s righteous. We do what we are tasked to do and leave it to God to do the rest.’ he corrected her.

‘I don’t think I can do this anymore.’ she said dejectedly.

‘God chose you. He’ll give you the grace to go through it. He is in control of Sri Lanka.’

‘It’s not about the Sri Lanka. There…there was something else.’

‘Another dream?’

She nodded her head. She told Joseph about her dream of the Forbidden City and the Queen. She also told him how she inferred the Queen as Satan. He listened to her intently.

‘What I didn’t get was the pregnant part…it was so…bizarre…am I going to have a kid without getting married, like Mother Mary?’ she asked him. 

‘Don’t be silly! There is only ONE Jesus. Dreams contain symbolic meanings. The pregnancy could mean that you are going to be pregnant with churches or God’s mission or work…’

‘Work… I often dream about work or going to work. There was this guy I dreamt of when I was 9 years old. In the dream, we flew across the sea in heaven. At the end of the dream, he said he had work for me!’ she cried out excitedly. ?

‘See, that could mean that you may be pregnant with the work of God.’ he expounded.

‘But what is the work about? And what about the seven heads?’ she frowned.

‘Only God knows what work He has in store for you. As for the meaning of the seven heads…well head symbolizes leadership or authority. So it could mean anyone from church leaders to head of states.’ he rationalized. ‘As for the two-leaved gate that you saw in your dream of heaven at nine years old…hmm…’ Joseph mumbled to himself as he opened up his bible.

‘Yes, found it! Isaiah 45:1 Cyrus –God’s instrument. Thus said the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut.’

Gisele’s mind was racing. God is going to open the Forbidden City gate? Is the work going to take me to Beijing?

‘Gisele…Gisele.’ Joseph interrupted her thoughts.

‘Sorry…I got to go. Thanks so much. I think I might have found the answer!’ she said and quickly got up to leave.

‘Where are you going?’ he called out after her.

‘Rehearsal! See you next week!’ she yelled back as she walked briskly to the rehearsal venue.

CHAPTER 7
The two hour service finally ended, much to Gisele’s relief. She couldn’t wait to talk to Bishop Tho. Lucas turned to Gisele who had a faraway look in her eyes.

‘You ok?’ He asked. He noticed that she looked bored most of the time. Thankfully she wasn’t sleeping but was reading the bible throughout the second half of the service. She snapped out of her dazed stupor.

‘Can we see your dad?’ she asked urgently.

‘Er…sure!’ he replied. Without a missing a beat, she quickly stood up. He followed suit, puzzled by her high enthusiasm.

They weaved past the congregation, waving and smiling at curious members who seemed to wonder since when and how their bishop’s son got to know anyone from the entertainment world and even brought a celebrity into a small family church like theirs.  Though Gisele was based in LA last few years, she was quite a familiar household name before she left for Hollywood and it was not unusual that people could still recognize her. Equally aware of the attention she attracted, she maintained a stoic expression as they walked past the congregation.

Gisele’s heart pounded faster as they reached the office where the bishop used to receive his guests. It was her first time meeting a bishop and she didn’t know what to expect. She had prepared a long list to question the bishop about Christianity before she came, but right now, her mind drew a blank. All her questions were irrelevant after she saw her dream in the bible. This God is for real.

They reached Bishop Tho’s office. It used to be a private library until it was converted to an office for him when he chose to stay on at KKMC after his retirement. Lucas knocked on the door and opened it. The bishop was not in. They entered nonetheless. He gestured her to take a seat at one of the leather arm chair by the office desk, while he poured a glass of tea for Gisele before sitting in a similar one beside her. There was a vintage charm about the office with the wooden and rugged leather furniture. There was even a faint smell of the leather as she sat on the arm chair. The most prominent thing in the office was this huge shelf that covered the entire side of one wall and extended all the way to the ceiling. The shelf was filled with reference books, concordances and different versions of the bible. A ladder attached onto the shelf, with wheels at the bottom, provided access to the books on the top shelf. He must be a very well-read man. The room was illuminated by a huge window that started from the ceiling to slightly above waist-level on one side of the room. Today, the curtains were pulled aside revealing the beautiful Sunday afternoon. The view from the window overlooked the church front porch and a small garden.  

‘My father would sometimes stand before the window and enjoy the wonders of God when taking brief breaks from his work.’ Lucas explained. She nodded in silence taking in the intellectual awesomeness of the place. When the bishop finally arrived, they stood up to greet him.

‘Ah, you must be Gisele, welcome. Lucas mentioned a lot about you.’ The bishop extended his hand to her and gave her a gentle handshake. His weathered hands felt rough to the touch. Up close, he looked even older. She could notice the lines and age spots on his skin. His eyes were droopy, concealing his double eye lids. His bushy eyebrows were as white as his hair. He was not very tall and age had caused his bones to shrink. Gisele easily towered over him as she stood up to shake his hand. She could hardly imagine him raising his voice and commanding spirits to leave during an exorcism.

‘You know, I used to watch you on those late nights drama…where you were acting as the princess in period drama.’ The bishop spoke to her in a kindly tone, like a father to his children.. Gisele smiled lightly.

‘Erm, dad…she was lead actress as the concubine. The princess was someone else.’ Lucas explained.

‘Oh. I’m sorry…I must have mixed up. Old age…’ The bishop said, pointing to his head.

‘That’s fine. I’m glad you enjoyed it.’ Gisele replied, hoping to diffuse the embarrassment for him, ‘Lucas spoke very highly of you and I hope you could enlighten me with your spiritual insight.’

‘I can only say based on what I know and experienced and what God allowed me to reveal.’ The bishop replied and beckoned them to take a seat.

‘How do you want me to help you?’ He asked when they had settled down.

‘These past few weeks, strange things have been happening to me. People I’ve never met before would come up to me and talked to me about God. I thought to myself that even if this God is real, I wouldn’t be interested because I was happy to be a Buddhist all my life.’ Gisele took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure how the bishop would react with what she was going to tell him next. She took up the bible which she found from the bench where she sat during the service and said, ‘But today, when I opened this book for the first time, I saw my dreams in it. Here…’ She turned to Revelation 12 and pointed it out to him. ‘The woman and the dragon… I dreamt about them last few weeks, in three parts and these dreams could continue from the previous one each time. I have never read bible before, how could I dream of Revelation 12?’

She held her breath as she waited for the bishop’s reaction. He looked down on his table and folded his arms. He looked up at Lucas and then to Gisele.

‘You’ve never read the bible before?’ He said, looking at her intently in her eyes. Having gone through a fair share of exorcisms, visions and dream, he was fully aware of the reality of the supernatural realm. However, he also had people coming to him claiming to have seen the transfiguration of the Virgin Mary, Moses, Abraham or some angelic beings; most of which he took with a pinch of salt.  

‘Never.’ Her gaze was unflinching. She could sense his scepticism, but she didn’t care.

‘Well the book of Revelation is a record of Apostle John’s visions…filled with symbols and hidden meanings which nobody really understood.’ Bishop Tho said.

‘You mean…this John guy saw the same thing as me? Does he have dreams that could come true like mine?’ She grew excited. Lucas and his father looked at each other with apprehension.

‘Your dreams could come true?’ His tone was part disbelief, part bewilderment.

‘Yes.’ She said with full of conviction.

‘Ok, hang on. Are you saying that you can dream about the future…and the stories in the bible even though you’ve never read a word in it?’ He asked again.

‘The dreams usually come a few days before they actually happen….It’s like déjà vu…’ Gisele explained.

‘And you dreamt about the woman and the dragon in the bible…What do you think the dream meant?’ Lucas asked.

‘I don’t know. All I know is that whenever I dreamt of something, it would come to pass…’ She repeated impatiently. How many times does she have to go through this before someone would believe her?

‘Ok…’ Lucas wasn’t sure what to make of it.

‘You think I’m lying? Sometimes I wish I don’t have these dreams because something bad always happens…like my father. I dreamt he died…a few days before he passed on.’ She choked at the mention of her father. There was an awkward silence. Lucas passed her a tissue paper.   

‘I’m…sorry to hear about your father. It’s just that when you said you want to speak to the bishop, I presumed that you wanted to know more about God.’ Lucas said. She accepted the tissue and wiped her tears.

‘I do…I want to understand what this God is about and what does he want…why does he keep giving me all these dreams.’ She said after she composed herself. The bishop thought for a moment.

‘In the bible, God says that he would pour out His spirit on all flesh. Old men shall dream dreams and young men shall see visions. This is a gift from God. Depending on how you look at it, it can be a curse if you see it that way.’ the bishop warned her.  

She had never considered it as a gift. Apart from her mother’s occasional lottery wins, the dreams were more of a liability to her especially the burden that came with the knowledge of her father’s fate and not being able to do anything about it, was more than what she could bear. But hearing the bishop referring her dreams as “gift from God” was refreshing. It made her feel like a superhero, as if she possessed some kind of special powers which no one else had.

‘I don’t understand. What do you mean by “gift”? I can’t control the dreams, so what good is it for?’ She shook her head in confusion.

‘Everyone is a vessel of God for Him to work through. There is a purpose behind every gift.’

‘So what is the purpose for mine?’

‘It could be a gift of prophecy, since you said that your dreams are the premonitions of things to come. In 1 Corinthians 14:3-4, the bible says: “But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.” The purpose of prophecy is to edify the church. And how you do that, it is for Him to reveal it to you…and He will speak to you.’

‘Ok…this is all Greek to me. What’s 1 Corinthians? What’s “edify the church”?’ she asked earnestly.

‘1 Corinthians is one of the books amongst the sixty-six books in the bible. It takes time to understand God’s words. It’s important that you keep a record of your dreams…in a journal. Write down the specific date and time of your dreams and visions. If you can sketch it out even better. It’ll help you to track the pattern and sensitize yourself to the voice of God.’

The bishop took out a notebook. ‘First, you have to make a decision to believe in God. When you have decided that He’s real to you and you want to follow Jesus, read the prayer in this book and pray it out loud.’ He pushed the notebook to her. She accepted it.

Looking at the notebook in her hand, her heart was filled with anticipation and excitement. If this God could provide an answer to my dreams, then maybe it was worth giving it a try. But for her to commit and follow Him, she needed to be convinced of many things.

‘Thank you. Let me think about it…I still have many questions about this God and the whole Christianity thing….like you call this God as the “Creator of man”. If He’s really the creator of heaven and earth and man, why is there so much suffering on this earth? Does He enjoy seeing us in pain? You Christians say that the bad things are from Satan but isn’t Satan also God’s creation? Why can’t God wipe out the devils so that we can live peacefully on earth? And don’t tell me that it all started with Adam and Eve eating a silly apple. It’s not fair! If He knows all things, why did He put the apple there to tempt them? Why didn’t He stop Eve from eating the fruit when He knew she was going to be deceived by Satan?’ Gisele ranted.

‘Wow, you are hungry and angry too!’ the bishop joked and then on a serious note, he said, ‘Satan is here to challenge our love. Real gold has to go through tests of fire. Real love has to go through tests of sufferings. We have to go through sufferings and sacrifices so as to sieve out those with a heart of gold.’
That was the first time that Gisele hear regarding Satan’s existence and power. Before she could ask further, the bishop continued.

‘In life, everything happens for a purpose, even sufferings. This life on earth is a test. To sieve the true ones who can pass all God’s tests of love to enter heaven’s gate. Even Christians don’t automatically go heaven once you believe in God. When God made Adam, His intention is to make man whom He can shower His love on, like a father to a child and so that this child will in turn, love Him back.’ the bishop asked, ‘Do you know what is God? Who is God?’

Gisele raised her eyebrows and shook her head.

‘God is love. If you know God, you will know what love is. If you know love, you will know who God is.’ the bishop smiled. ‘Why do we have children? Because the child is the fruit of the love between the husband and the wife. We have children so that we can love them and we wish that they will love us back. It’s the same for God. God made man in His image. He created Adam to have a relationship with Him. God created Eve from Adam’s rib so that Adam could have a relationship with Eve. This is God’s original plan for relationships, that we love one another.’

It took her a while for his words to sink in and even then she didn’t fully understand what he meant. Yet hearing him talked about the love of God, she couldn’t help feeling a surge of fatherly love coming over her. It was hard to explain. It was a quality that she had never experienced before…not even from her late father. A sense of warmth and security.

The chime of the church bells from a distance interrupted her thoughts. Lucas helped the bishop off his chair. It was time for the bishop to get ready for the next service.

‘It was nice talking to you, my child. Remember…’ the bishop pointed to the notebook in her hand.

‘Thank you. I’ll definitely give this a try’ Gisele waved the notebook and got up.

‘Let me know how it goes.’ He walked them to the door. As she stepped out of the office, she suddenly remembered something and turned around.

‘I heard an announcement before the service…something about a bible study group on Revelation. Is it on?’ She asked earnestly.

The bishop and Lucas looked at each other. ‘The book of Revelation is a very difficult book. Not suitable for those young in the Lord. Why don’t you start with the New Testaments? It is easier to understand.’ The bishop suggested. Gisele thought about for a second.

‘What’s that?’ Gisele looked puzzled.

‘It’s mainly about the works of Jesus.’ Lucas explained.

‘What’s the difference between God and Jesus? Is Jesus a God too? I thought there is only ONE God? Do Christians pray to two Gods?’ she asked in bewilderment.

‘Not two but three.’ Lucas joked. When the bishop saw Gisele looked even more baffled, he explained, ‘There is ONE God in three – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are called The Trinity. God wants to have a relationship with us, and that’s why He sends His Son, Jesus to earth to teach us how to live our lives as a son or daughter, like Jesus himself.’  Gisele frowned.

‘So who is the Holy Spirit?’ Gisele asked.

‘The Holy Spirit is our helper whom Jesus leaves behind after He was resurrected from death.’
Gisele shook her head in confusion.

‘You have seen the sun right?’ the bishop asked. She nodded. Of course.

‘The sun gives out light and heat. When you see the morning light, is that light or the sun?’
She thought hard and deep. Is it a trick question?

‘It is… sunlight?… Light FROM the sun?’ She answered with uncertainty.

‘It is light and it is also sun. When you stand under the sun, you will also feel the heat right? Is the heat also sun? Yes.’ the bishop continued. ‘Therefore, the light and heat are also sun. God, the Father is like sun, and from Him, comes light – Jesus the Son and heat – the Holy Spirit. They exist together. Where the sun is, there must be light and heat. Do you see it now?’

‘Kinda…’ Gisele was trying to comprehend the analogy he just used.

‘The bible has a total of 66 books, which are divided into the Old and New Testaments. The first four chapters of the second half of the bible- New Testament is mostly about the life of our Lord Jesus’ ministry. He died for us on the cross to atone for our sins, so that we may be reconciled with our Father God who is just. Subsequent chapters will be about the works of Jesus’ disciples through the guiding of the Holy Spirit. You’ll find it’s like…reading story books, much easier to comprehend. That’s why starting from the New Testament would be a better idea.’ Lucas interjected.

‘But I want to try at least a few lessons on Revelation first. If they prove to be too difficult for me, I’ll study whatever you were talking about just now. I mean there’s no harm in going straight to Revelation, right?’ she insisted. She was desperate to find out about her dreams. If she missed this bible study, who knew when they would organize one again? The bishop and Lucas exchanged looks. Is she always like this? Lucas knew what his father must be thinking; this one was a tough nut to crack.

‘Your friend is very curious…like a sponge, thirsting for water.’ the bishop commented to Lucas. He turned to Gisele, ‘Of course, you are most welcome to join the class. We’ll register the class for you.’

‘I’m very sorry to interrupt, but the bishop has to get ready for his duty.’ Lucas reminded them.

‘Thank you for taking the time to explain so many things to me.’ she said gratefully.

‘You are most welcome my child.’ the bishop smiled.

‘I won’t be seeing you out. Got to stay back and help out.’ Lucas informed.

‘It’s ok. I should thank you for inviting me.’

‘Oh, before I forget…this is for you.’ Lucas took out a black leather cover bible from a paper bag and passed it to her.

‘For me? Thank you so much! I will read it tonight.’ she promised. Hugging the bible to her chest, she left the church in high spirits. She couldn’t wait to get home and read it. She hoped that it would unlock the mystery behind her dreams. She wondered if she would discover more of her dreams in the bible.

Chapter 6

Cont’d…Gisele was awestruck by the time Lucas ended his story. She had heard of the Exorcism in the movies. But if this Reverend Bishop Tho was so all-powerful that even demons would flee at his command, surely he could provide some insight on this God whom she was trying to understand. All her life, no one could explain the bible to her. Even the Sunday school teacher was confusing in her teaching. How could she say that God gave us apple trees when they had to be planted by farmers? Since young she had written off Christianity from her life because she couldn’t understand how the suffering of this world brought about by a man and a woman called Adam and Eve. What great wrong would they have possibly committed by eating a silly apple? And the apple tree was planted by God!

‘Why don’t you visit my church? See for yourself.’ Lucas offered, not exactly what Gisele had hoped, but she could make use of the opportunity for something else.

‘Can I talk to your father instead? He seemed to be very well-versed in the bible and God. I have a few questions to ask him.’ Gisele asked him sweetly, knowing that Lucas wouldn’t turn down his patient. After hours of reading Christian and Buddhist books, Gisele was ready to face the Bishop with her hundred and one questions. She was pretty sure that she could outtalk him and convert him over to become a Buddhist. And she would shake this Christian god off her back.

‘Then come to church this Sunday. My father will be there and you can talk to him after service.’ Lucas suggested.  

It was 19 February when she first stepped into Kampong Kelang Methodist Church where Lucas’s father had served as the Bishop for twenty over years. Having established since 1904, the hundred plus year old church had undergone little change. The church reminded Gisele of the cathedrals she had seen in European countries with its high ceilings, stain glass windows and even a working pipe organ. This was the first time she attended Church service. Gisele had always loved churches, because they are so clean and beautiful. Churches were mostly white in colour, and white exuded peace and magnificence.

The 9:30 am service was so crowded. The ushers were smiling and greeting her when Gisele arrived, which made her uncomfortable. They passed her a few handouts and she politely took them, hoping no one would start a conversation with her unnecessarily. Her purpose here was simply to question Lucas’s bishop father, not to listen to their preaching. Furthermore, she knew they were nice harmless people, but she couldn’t help wonder if all these formalities were just an act to keep up with appearances. Once inside the church, she thought she had arrived Ancient Ville. More than half of the congregation was in their fifties and older. Some even had their helpers and caregivers supporting them as they hobbled around with their walking aids. Gisele felt odd sitting among the relics. Not wanting to stick out like sore thumb, she deliberately settled for a seat in the back rows. Lucas caught the sight of her as she made her way to the back. He waved at her and gestured the empty place beside him. Gisele finally made her way next to him.

The seats were antediluvian by Gisele’s standards. Old wooden benches lined up one behind another neatly with equal spacing from the front and back. Not a single bench was out of place. Everything was placed with careful precision. Five minutes before the service began, a group of men and women in their thirties took their places on an elevated platform behind the pulpit. They looked like they had just stepped out of the set of Sisters’ Act. All of them were dressed in deep blue robes with green stoles hung from their necks. With enthusiastic smiles, they faced the congregation ready to break out in a song any minute.

At the sound of the church bells ringing, place suddenly became abuzz with excitement. Gisele enjoyed the clarity and the joy in the sound of the bells. Everyone stood up. Gisele followed suit although she didn’t know what was going on. The congregation began to say a prayer. Shit. Why did I ever agree coming here? She was beginning to regret her decision of coming to the church to meet bishop. After a minute of prayer, they returned to their seats. Announcements were being made on the activities that would take place in the following week. Gisele shifted uneasily in her seat. The hard wooden bench took some getting used to and there was a reason for that, which Gisele soon found out. Before five minutes was up, the congregation rose again; this time for the singing of hymns. She realized that those Sisters’Act-lookalikes were actually the choir. Looking at them, clapping and singing with joy, Gisele remembered fondly of the times when she too was part of a choir in her primary school years. She loved being in the choir.

This time, Gisele continued to stay put in her seat, despite everyone was standing and singing along with the choir. Lucas looked at Gisele for a while, but continued his singing with the rest of the congregation. The congregation never got to sit for more than ten minutes before they were required to stand up again. She was glad that Lucas had chosen to sit all the way back where no one would see her. Gisele refused to stand up and did not join in the singing because she did not know this god and she was not here to worship him anyway. Fortunately Lucas understood it, as he never made any fuss. When the 3rd Song ended, a man dressed in black shirt with a white band in the collar and black pants went up to speak.

‘This is my father.’ Lucas smiled.

The man looked seventy years old, skinny and frail. It was hard to imagine he was an exorcist! He must be very powerful indeed, Gisele thought.

The service went on and there were more singing and standing up and sitting down. Gisele was bored and restless. She looked around the church. Beautiful, old church. It was the kind of church that Gisele would love to go to. It felt so holy. Though she did not believe in Christianity, but she always found tranquility in the old church architecture. Gisele then took notice of the people in church. They looked pretty intelligent and logical, but from the way they sang songs to their god, they seemed so mesmerized by him? Why did they believe in bible since they looked logical and sound-minded?

Gisele noticed a bible in front of her. This, is the book eh? Why did these people, and so many others believe in this book which was written by men? And the ridiculous excuse of how sin came about because of Adam and Eve. So many innocent ones had to suffer because of their sins generations after generations. This was the most unconvincing story she had heard. If someone was to ask her whom she thought would be the most stupid characters in fairy tales, she would have said Adam and Eve. She took the bible from the back of the bench in front and flipped through it skeptically. Though Gisele had never read the bible before, she knew the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis, the first chapter of the bible from a friend. Gisele thought, ‘Since the beginning was such a silly story, let’s see how this book ended.’ She just flipped and staring at her was this title, “The Woman and The Dragon.” Below the title was a big number “12”. There was another main title on top, “Revelation”. What is Revelation? What was dragon doing in the bible? The Woman and The Dragon? What is it about? Gisele wondered. She read it.  

Revelation 12 – A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and his throne. The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1260 days.

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

The dragon was the serpent? Suddenly Gisele realized something. Is this the trilogy dream that I had about the same place – the bridge with bright light shining a thousand times brighter than that on earth? And the war? And the garden where the serpent appeared and chased me and later it turned into a dragon?

Gisele continued reading.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you?He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”

When the dragon saw that he has been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent…

Something in her heart told her that her strange dream was talking about this passage in bible. That serpent also spewed river of fire from his mouth to consume me!

Suddenly, everything seemed to click in place. The war she had dreamt about, the serpent which had knocked her over, they all written in the book. Then she remembered Lili’s letter concerning her dream. It’s too coincidental. It cannot be so coincidental. If her dream was real, which she knew in her heart that her spirit was really there, then this passage in the bible must be true. And if this bible is real, this God must be real too.
Gisele dropped the bible, startling the people around her. Lucas picked the bible up and turned to her, whispering, ‘Everything ok?’

She looked at him, pale and shaking and said, ‘God spoke to me!’

CHAPTER 6

            She was on her old bicycle again, cycling to work. Behind her was a war waiting to explode. The air was cool and breezy, the sun, bright and clear. She continued her usual routine to her workplace where she would have to take the left route behind the length of a rectangular garden into the back road. When she approached the garden, she stopped abruptly. She froze in fear at the sight before her. Above the garden were two huge serpents, one white as snow and the other green like the forest moss, with head as large as a meter in diameter. Their bodies twisting and wriggling which would be longer than the garden, at about 20 meters if they were stretched out straight. Not resting or coiled around anything, they looked as if an invisible thread was suspending them above the ground, slightly higher than Gisele’s stature. The white one was guarding the left path of the garden where she usually travelled to get to behind the tall bushes and the green one over the right side.

            A voice boomed out from above, ‘Choose one path. Chose wrongly and you would die.’ Gisele looked up, but there was no one in sight. She turned to the two serpents. She could see the scales of their pale underbellies shifted as they writhed lazily in mid air. She observed the white one on the left and then turned to the green on the right. Either way looked frightening to her for she had to walk under them. She thought to herself, ‘The white serpent looks friendlier. And besides, that’s the path where I always take.’

             Gisele got down from her bicycle, and glanced from the white serpent to green one again. It seemed like she was not too sure which is the right path. Finally, she walked toward the white serpent hesitantly. She went as far as she was directly under the white serpent’s head. Nothing happened. She braced herself for the rest of the path. Every inch seemed like a mile! She bent her back carefully so as not to come into contact with its belly. She moved about an inch further when suddenly the white serpent wriggled. Gisele froze in her steps. ‘Maybe this is the wrong path! Is the green serpent the right one then?’ The white serpent wriggled more vigorously and hit Gisele on her shoulder. She fell to the ground on all fours. She looked up and a wave of fear gripped her. ‘No… I am not going to choose any path!’ She cried and scrambled up. 

            She turned back to where she had started and ran to the opposite direction from the garden. Dealing with a war on the brink of breaking out was a thousand times better than facing these monstrous anacondas. She ran as fast as her feet could take her, constantly looking back and checking to see if they were far from her. From a distance she could see the white enemy looked bigger than before. It was an illusion deception. The white serpent was coming after her.  

            Her eyes widen in horror as it opened its mouth and a river of fire poured out towards her. She darted and narrowly escaped being fried alive. She picked up speed and sprinted away. This time she continued running without looking back because every turn of the head may slow her down and fear has a paralyzing effect. All she had to do was to get to the bridge and she’ll be out and safe. She continued running hoping to catch the sight of the bridge soon. But when she reached to where the end of the bridge was supposed be, it was nowhere to be found! She came to a stop. Standing before her was a colossal structure that resembled the base of the Eiffel Tower, only bigger and broader. Gisele looked up. The top of the tower had merged into the clouds.

            She made a 360 degrees turn. There was no other escape route in sight. She could keep running round the garden or she could climb the tower. She made her decision and reached out for the first run. Very swiftly she pulled herself up and began her ascension, panting and heaving herself up rung by rung. She had no idea, how long she had been climbing or how far she had gone up the tower. It was when she looked down to see if the white serpent was anywhere in sight, she realized that she was but midway in the blue sky! She could see nations preparing for war from that height!

            She had scarcely caught her breath when from the corner of her right eye she saw the white serpent charging towards her with its mouth wide open, constant stream of fire pouring out, trying to consume her. Panting and tired, she mustered all her strength to climb as fast as she could. But she had no chance against the ferocious creature. The white serpent darted towards her at such a high speed and impact, so much so that before she could react, it caught hold of her with its tail and tore her away from the tower. With a mighty flail, it flung her towards the ground.  Gisele could feel herself freefall to land.

            A loud thud echoed the surroundings when she crash-landed. The softness of the soil absorbed much of the impact. She opened her eyes and looked around. Slowly she got up and was amazed to discover that not a single bone in her body was broken. She looked around. It was the familiar setting of plants and trees. She was back to the garden again. From a distance she could see a white dot coming towards her and getting bigger. It was the white serpent rocketing through the air. She turned around. The vegetation provided no source of protection against it. She caught the sight of a wooden square table placed against the garden’s bricked wall near the entrance to the garden. She dived straight underneath it, naively hoping that the little square table would provide some sort of protection. As she crawled toward the edge of the wall, the white serpent had followed suit and went straight under the table. Coming face to face with the white fiend with its tongue extending out, Gisele’s heartbeat pulsated even faster as it tried to pick up her scent. Then it stopped and poised before her. She knew that it had locked on her like a missile on target. The big white serpent head suddenly pulled back and thensprang forward like a released arrow towards her. Gisele screamed when it opened its jaw to reveal the fangs and sank the sharp dangers onto her left arm.  An excruciating pain shot through her arm. By now, the white serpent head turned into a dragon head! Her cries tore through the garden.

Gisele screamed and sprang up to a sitting position. She clutched her chest, her breathing labored and heavy. The sky was still dark and in a few moments, it would be almost dawn break. Was it a dream? She wiped the perspiration on her brows and collapsed back to her make-shift sofa-bed. Though she had slept the night before, she was exhausted.  It seemed so real! It’s the garden again. Why? This was the third time she had dreamt of the same garden and bridge. The first dream occurred more than a month ago. Two weeks after, in the same dream with the same place, she dreamt the second part which was a continuation of the first. Now this third part continued from the second one she had dreamt about. Strange…a dream trilogy? Was it trying to tell me something?

Chinese believed that being bitten by snake in the dream symbolizes prosperity. The bigger the snake, the bigger the fortune the dreamer would receive. For the superstitious, they would buy lottery to capitalize on that good fortune. But Gisele was in no mood to think about fortune and money now. She was jaded. Her dad had just passed on, and was still in the coffin behind her. She scrambled up and folded the bed back to a sofa.

Standing at 5 feet 1, Gisele was not someone you could consider drop dead gorgeous by Hollywood standards. Her raven hair stood out starkly against her fair complexion. She reached out for an elastic band and pulled her thick hair back into a pony tail, accentuating her most striking features; those elegantly arched eyebrows and long lashes framing her dark and piercing eyes. Her angular shaped face, high nose bridge and strong cheek bones betrayed a hint of Dutch and Asian parentage. Her willowy frame cast a cold and remote disposition, giving off a mystical aura that made her almost other worldly.

‘Hey your food is here!’ Charlie called out from the front.  She shuffled her feet out to meet Charlie.

Charlie was laying out the hot Char Siew buns and her favorite soy bean milk on the table. Standing just below Gisele’s shoulders, Charlie was the total opposite of Gisele. Dressed in her usual polo tee and Bermudas, Charlie sported a short spiky hairstyle of the latest trend. She looked up and smiled at Gisele. Bird and Ernie. Charlie was the Ernie. Big ears, short spiky hair, dimple, shorter than Gisele about 1.6 metres. Wear pants and men’s shirt. Gregarious laughter. Has a face that non-threatening, comic, boyish, jovial with a ready smile. Soft hearted and cannot say no to people. Very different from Gisele, seldom say yes. North and south pole, maybe that attracts. They seldom agree, but they clicked and hit off well.

They met in secondary girls’ school while playing Otello. Gisele never lost a game and always win the game. (secret game) Gisele met her match in Charlie. They took turns to win the game. They like to debate since they don’t agree. They became good friends when they realised that they could help each other see from a different perspective. Charlie was very girly and only became more boyish when she turned eighteen. Gisele always suspected a muscline side of Charlie. Often they used to play boyfriend and girlfriend. Charlie would always be the boy. With manly calves, Charlie had a natural flair in sports.

Charlie had stayed up the whole night last night to accompany Gisele at the funeral. As the only child, Gisele had to stay up throughout the funeral to make sure that the joss sticks were kept burning. According to Chinese customs and belief, the dead was led by the light of the burning joss sticks through his journey to heaven. If the joss sticks discontinued, the dead will be lost and may not be able to find its way to heaven in darkness.

Charlie dressed in her usual tom-boy polo shirt and Bermudas.

“You went home to change?” Gisele yawned.

“Yup! And bought soya milk from your favourite stall along the way.” Charlie was laying out the table to prepare for their very late lunch. Gisele breathed heavily, as if something was on her chest and she needed to get it out. Charlie noticed Gisele’s pale look. “Hey, what happened to you? Why’s your hair so wet?”

“Nothing. Weird dreams again… I’ll go wash up.”

Gisele went to light new joss sticks and replace the old ones with them. She walked to the coffin, stood there for a while before she proceeded to the bathroom. Charlie’s phone rang. She tried to search for it in her bag but eventually gave up. Charlie poured out her messy stuff on a chair beside her and found her phone. The other party hung up on her when she was about to answer it. Charlie mumbled to herself, ‘Why people need to have private numbers? Aren’t the people they call their friends who know their numbers anyway?’

She threw her blackberry into her haversack and packed her things back. Amongst the mess, Charlie realized there was a stack of letters. She sorted out them out and took notice of this cute sticker with a mother bird and her two babies in the nest. On it, were the words “He cares for you”. Charlie found it cute and tried to open it to see what letter that was. Suddenly someone tapped on her shoulders. Charlie jumped.

‘What are you peeping at?’ Gisele returned. looking a little fresher with her hair tied up neatly.

‘You gimme a fright!’ Charlie made a sigh of relief and guiltily passed the stack of letters to Gisele. “Last night your artiste manager from TV station…what’s her name… let me think…

‘Irene Low.’ Gisele reminded.

‘Oh yes! Irene… She did not want to disturb you while you were chanting with the monk, and she had to leave soon after she paid respect to your dad, so she asked me to pass these fan mails to you. I forgot all about it till now.”   Gisele looked at the letters. Since she left Singapore TV station for LA, her fans had not stopped sending her mails. This was heart-warming. Charlie pointed to the purplish envelop with the cute sticker. “Hey, this is cute eh? Ha, teenagers still love you! She must have watched your show when she was still a child.”

“I am not that old!” Gisele slapped Charlie with the purple envelope.

Sipping her favourite soya milk, Gisele opened the purple envelope at the same time.

Letter dated 6-1-06

“Dear Gisele,

I’m no great fan of yours. I don’t watch many TV shows and therefore do not know you very well. But I carry a burden to share this with you.

 On my 57^th birthday (05-12-05), at about 2 to 3 am in the morning, I had an awesome dream. I dreamt that I was in church and it was during altar call time. There were many people. As I stood and look at the sea of people before me, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and found my husband and a good friend behind me. They instructed me to pray for this person standing right in front of me. I presumed that they wanted me to lead him or her into saying the sinners’ prayer, to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. However being introverted and doubtful, I hesitated and told them, ‘Let Pastor to do it instead.’  As soon as I spoke, my pastor left hurriedly, leaving me disappointed and perplexed.

I woke up feeling disturbed because:

 1. I don’t even know who this person in front of me was or was it a man or woman.

2. I felt terrible for disobeying God as I believed that this was a divine calling.

I quickly repented and prayed to God for forgiveness and asked him to reveal who this person was. After that I returned to sleep and the most awesome thing happened. God actually showed me the person’s face and it turned out to be you – Gisele!

Since that day, I have been keeping you in my prayers. I shared my dream to one of the youth pastor’s wife, Janice who used to be your manager when she was with the TV Station. She was thrilled and encouraged me to write you. I’m convicted to share this to you. As you read this, I want you to know that Jesus loves you and wants you to “cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you. He will never let the righteous fall” Psalm 55:22.

God bless, Lili”

The clean cursive writing revealed the orderly and neat nature of the writer. Gisele could feel the goose bumps on her skin when she finished reading it. She took up the envelope. It was attention to her. There was even a bumper sticker with a cartoon character with the words, “God is Great!” beside her signature. Gisele frowned. She had never liked Christians. Which fifty-seven year old would paste such childish sticker on her envelop? Maybe something is wrong with her! Or this must be one those silly chain letters that some weirdo Christians had spread to incite fear; “Pass this to seven other people. If you do not do so, something bad is going to befall you!”

“Nonsense mail from crazy fans again.” Gisele told Charlie. She then flippantly dropped the letter into a nearby waste paper basket. But this letter is a little different. This lady’s dream could continue, like my weird trilogy dream last night. So I am not the only one who has dreams that continued? Interesting…

Chapter 1

“The first time she realized that her dream could come true was when she was 16 years old. On the night before the release of her ‘O’ Levels results, she had a dream about it. Every single subject score was exactly the way it was in her dreams. Initially she wasn’t sure, but when she paid more attention to the dreams, she realized that some of them were abstract representations of the actual events, like watching an art house movie. There were even times when she would dream of numbers written in white graffiti style on blackboard. Most of the time those numbers turned out to be lottery numbers which benefitted her mother the most. Needless to say, her mother was the only person who believed her. Much as Gisele relished feeling special with those experiences, not all the dreams were pleasant. Often she would wake up in the middle of the night, frightened and emotionally drained when the dreams turned violent or eerie.”

Chapter 2

“She was constantly thinking that something bad was about to happen to her whenever her life was about to turn for the better. For some reasons, she felt heaven was jealous of her and was unhappy with this career path that she had chosen. She knew from young that she had a mission over her life. She didn’t know what it was. To this day she remembered the dream that she had when she was nine years old.

She saw herself floating above a sea. There was no night. Only day. In the far horizon, a distinct line divided the white sky and navy blue sea. As she hovered between the sky and the waters, she could see from afar off, light glittering from the surface of the sea, like twinkling stars on a midnight sky. It was beautiful! The light here was so bright, a thousand times brighter than the light on earth. Yet, it did not feel hot at all. The air was cooling and comfortable. As she moved closer, she realized that the light was actually reflected from the crystals floating on the waters. Huge blocks of crystals in rounded rectangular shapes floated like gigantic ice cubes on the waters. It was a dazzling sight to behold. She continued flying and not before long she was joined by a Man on her left. He was very tall, about 2 meters tall and all adorned in white. She could not remember what he looked like except that he had black short hair. They flew towards the shore where she saw young people, men and women, engaging in various activities. In heaven, there were no old folks and no children. All are in their early twenties. There were people swimming in the sea. Someone was sailing a small laser boat. On the shore, there were a group of five people playing with a transparent beach ball. What impressed her was the elation on their faces. She could see that they were having so much fun. There was not a care for the world in their lives. Their joy was so infectious that just by looking at them, made her happy too. There was no pain or sorrow. There was only pure bliss and perfect tranquility.

Both Gisele and the Man continued to fly towards the horizon until she saw a perfect square house with an ancient Chinese roof on it. The house had door gates which resembled traditional Chinese two-leafed (double) gates with a pair of ring knockers. The knockers were made of iron and were casted in the images of lion heads or “Pu Shou”. In the olden days people believed lions supposed to possess magic powers and so they had images or statues of “Pu Shou” outside their doorway or on the gates to ward off evil.

The Man turned to her and said, ‘I have a job for you’. They both flew towards the double doors and as they reached closer, the door flung open and swallowed them into the abyss. The door then closed behind them.”