Act Three Scenes 1
The scene opens with JAMES walking into
the stage looking around frightfully. He gets to the Centre of the stage. In
front of him are two signposts. One towards his right and the other towards his
left. The one towards is left has an inscription, HELL while the other has an
inscription, THE CELESTIAl CITY. He glances over the scroll in his hand and
begins to walk towards the celestial city. As he approaches the edge of the
Celestial city, two horrible looking creatures suddenly withstands him crossing
two long sticks against his path to the celestial city. One of the creatures
wears a black overall with a hood. The other creature wears a red overall with
a black hood. On the chest of the creature with the black overall is an
inscription like a letter of fire, FORNICATION and the one with red, LUCIFER.
Meanwhile an angel stands at the entrance to the Celestial city in pure radiant
white and holds a sword. The evil looking creatures stand a short distance from
the angel.
FORNICATION: (in a deep frightening
baritone voice) Step back! You are not qualified to go in here. I live inside
of you. And no fornicator is qualified to enter into the kingdom of God.
(Laughs).
JAMES: it’s a lie, fornication! I’m a
child of God. I’m born again. I was once a fornicator but after I gave my life
to Christ, He pardoned me and delivered me from fornication. I’m a new
creature, old things are passed away. I don’t have fornication in me!
FORNICATION: That fateful day you
allowed lust into your life was the very day you welcomed me back into your
life.
JAMES: When?
FORNICATION: (Point at a large screen on
the stage. He is surprised to see himself on the screen with Jane. The scene on
the screen shows the day he shook hands with Jane. Behind them was fornication
going inside the heart of James. The day and date is clearly written at the
top.) Here, you lusted after Jane. Since then I have been living in your heart!
(Laughs hysterically)
JAMES: (Cold sweat drips from his forehead;
his legs visibly shaking) But that was just a slip of hand; I never intended to
shake her hands as I knew I would lust but I needed to show her love as
commanded in the word of God to love one another. And beside I’d never gone
into fornication with her. I’m not a fornicator.
FORNICATION: Your holy scripture said in
Matthew chapter 5 verse 27 to 28 that, “ye have heard that it was said by them
of old time, thou shall not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
his heart. Look again. (He point at the screen again. This time it is a scene
showing that fateful night he lied to his father) You didn’t only invite me
into your heart but you also invited my twin brother, lie, inside your heart.
JAMES: (Panting) No! I prayed and ask
God for mercy and he forgave me from all my sins.
FORNICATION: Yes, you did pray for
forgiveness but you did not receive forgiveness for your fornication.
JAMES: (Surprisingly) Why not? The bible
said, if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
FORNICATION: Your holy bible also said
that if only you will confess and forsake your sin you will have mercy. You
only confessed your sin of fornication, you didn’t forsake it. Your heart was
still longing after Jane even while you were praying. The only sin you
confessed and forsook was lie.
LUCIFER: (In a vibrating bass tone) You
are mine! (Laughs) you belong to me!
JAMES: (trembling) Ah! You again? I’m
not yours in Jesus’s name! I bind you in Jesus’s name!
LUCIFER: (Angrily) Shut up! You don’t
shout the name here, fool!
Now look again! (He looks into the large
screen again. He sees all the sins he had committed long ago appearing one
after the other on the screen with the exact date he committed them.)
JAMES: (Falls on his knee as tears well
down his checks) but I have confessed all these sins long ago!
LUCIFER: Your bible said, whoever falls
short of any of his commandments is a transgressor of all. You are a sinner.
WHOEVER COMMITS SIN IS MINE!!! (Laughs)
The two creatures grasp him and had
barely started dragging him towards hell when suddenly the angel ordered:
ANGEL: (Authoritatively) Stop! Leave him
and let him go!
They leave him.
LUCIFER: Why are you stopping us? He
doesn’t belong to you, he is ours. We have labored arduously for his fall and
have successfully killed him on earth to take his soul to hell. This is our
right. It’s appointed unto men once to die and after that judgment.
ANGEL: Yes, I know. But you have killed
him before his time and moreover, the brethren are lifting up their voice to
God on his behalf and God has decided to have mercy on him.
The horrible looking creatures begin to
leave frustratingly.
The Angel goes to James and lifts him to
his feet; still crying and sobbing.
ANGEL: Cry no more. God has showed you
mercy. I must take you to Christ now, he calls for you.
They walk out of the stage slowly as light gradually fades to blackout.
Act Three Scene 2
(In the hospital. The scene open with
James’ father walking to and fro the hospital wards in disarray; Peter and
Ifeanyi tries to calm him down with no success. Other concern neighbours and
church brethren are also there. Some brethren form a circle, bombarding heaven
with prayers. Suddenly, a doctor comes in. with a speed of light, James’ father
runs to meet the doctor.)
FATHER: (Shouts) Doctor, my son, is he
alive?
DOCTOR: Please calm down. Are you the
father of the boy?
FATHER: Yes! Is he alive?
DOCTOR: I’ll like to see you privately.
Meet me in my office, please.
At this point, everyone has rallied
round the doctor. Everyone looks very worried and put on a suspicious look when
the doctor demands to see James’ father privately. Some of them want to follow
them in but the doctor insists that only the father should come along with him.
The father keeps asking the doctor if it’s well as they walk out of the stage.
Light Fades to Blackout
Act Three Scene 3
JAMES: (at the backstage) Lord, where am
I?
CHRIST and JAMES begin to walk into the
stage.
CHRIST: Son, this is the hall of The
Celestial City Of Examination.
JAMES: waooh, this is splendid. (Looks
around) the street is made of gold indeed! There is a fountain of overwhelming
joy flowing in my heart. So I finally made it to heaven, the celestial city!
CHRIST: I did not say you are in heaven.
You are still far from heaven. This is the Celestial City Of Examination. You
are not qualified to enter the kingdom of God. My word cannot be broken. Heaven
and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away. No fornicator will
cross the threshold of heaven to the Celestial city! Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
JAMES: (Falls at the feet of Christ
penitently) Lord, I thought I would make my ways right before living earth to
eternity. As a matter of fact I have set long time goals for myself. I have not
accomplished one quarter of them and here I’m! I soon forgot that man can only
propose but God disposes. But Lord, how did I come here? (He burst out in
tears) The last thing I can remember is that I board a bus going to Ibadan and
along Ibadan express way the passengers or rather we began to yell and suddenly
I found myself here.
CHRIST: Yes, the kingdom of darkness
arranged an accident for you, to terminate your life. Unfortunately, you were
their target and only you died in the accident. Others were badly injured but
only you died. My words said in first peter 5 verse 8, be sober, be vigilant
because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking
whom he may devour. That was why I told you in Ephesians 6 verse 14: stand
therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of righteousness so that you can withstand the evil day and to stand. But you
rejected all my counsels.
Look, (Christ point at a big screen on
the stage) that is your mansion. See how glorious and beautiful it is. It's
almost at its completing stage. Your labours in the vineyard were greatly
compensated by making this great mansion for you. Look again and see your
crowns: these are all yours because you have won many a soul to the kingdom of
God. Some of them are already in heaven. See again. (A friend whom he had
preached and who died some months ago suddenly appeared on the screen.)
JAMES: (Screams) Ibrahim! I know him. He
is my convert! He died few months ago! IBRAHIM!!!
CHRIST: Yes. After his conversion, he
was persecuted by his Muslim brethren and was eventually poisoned which led to
his death. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
JAMES: Hmmm!
CHRIST: Now, look again. Do you know
this fellow?
JAMES: (screams) what! Brother Obodo in
hell! This is unbelievable!!!
CHRIST: Yes, that is Obodo in hell. He
is a hardened sinner!
JAMES: No, Lord. Brother Obodo is our
formal president in the school fellowship. He prays a lot and preached about
heaven and hell passionately, he…
CHRIST: (Cuts in) The LORD does not see
things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord
looks at the heart. Behind the scene, he is a liar, a fornicator and a thief.
He involves in exam malpractice, too. Moreover, he is not doing what you see
him do out of a pure heart or for my glory but for attention and self-glory. My
Father is a jealous God: he will never share His glory with any man!
James, unfortunately this is where you
are qualified for!
James YELLS as the curtain gradually
close on them and reopen at PETER and IFEANYI praying on the died body of
James.
As they pray, God speaks from the back
stage.
GOD: (Offstage) For the sake of the
intersection of your friends, Peter and Ifeanyi, I’ll give you a second chance.
I’m God! I’ll have mercy on whom I have mercy and I’ll have compassion on whom
I have compassion. Go back and make your ways right before me. Be careful of a
little slip to sin. My eye is of a purer eye to behold iniquity. James, you
should have opened up to your friends all your faults. My words said in James 5
verse 16, “confess your fault one to another and pray one for another, that you
may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
He that covers his sin shall not prosper but he who confess and forsake them
shall have mercy.
JAMES, FLEE YOUTHFUL LUST! Now, go back to the world and
make your ways right…
The voiced of God is echoed as it
gradually melted away.
James’s friend still praying. Then all
of a sudden, James open his eye. PETER is taken aback. IFEANYI runs a distance
then begins to walk back frightfully.
PETER: (Shouts) Hallelujah! HE IS ALIVE!
Light fades.
The end.
