“We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

      —2 Corinthians 4:18

      “WHY ME?” OR “why not me?” are questions which seem to pervade life for all of us. Much of what we face at times seems unfair and totally beyond our control. Often our best efforts are not enough, or we succeed when we know we should have failed. Is there some purpose at work in our lives beyond mere chance? Could there be something beyond our control, something of which we may be completely unaware that influences the decisions we make and arranges the circumstances we face? If there were, that would provide the answer to much that cannot be explained in our lives.

      The Bible speaks of parallel worlds – one visible, the other invisible. They are said to exist separately, but not independently. We are told that in our lifetime we occupy the physical world, the place of flesh and blood. The other world is described as being spiritual and is inhabited by eternal beings invisible to us who are in constant conflict over control of the physical world and those who live there. The frightening thing for us who live in the physical world is that if the Bible is true, the invisible can influence us and the events that affect our lives without us even being aware of their activities. When we die, we leave the physical world and occupy our place in the spiritual world, having become one of the invisible. The answer to the question “what happens then” is beyond the subject of this book, although our story will picture some who make the transfer from one world to the next. For them, the answer will be obvious, as will the reason for their future placement.

      The author asks that as you read this book, you be willing to assume that the Bible is true and that what it says about the visible and invisible is, in fact, the reality in which we live. You are invited to consider what you would see if the curtain which separates the visible from the invisible were suddenly opened, revealing the conflict, tactics and methods of the opposing forces – and how they actually impact your life.

      The reader is cautioned that although this is a work of fiction, it often crosses the line to truth if what the Bible teaches is true – not in personalities or in the events described, but in how those events would be viewed if we could actually see everything that happened as it happened in both the visible and invisible worlds simultaneously. For those willing to search for the truth about what really affects their life, this book will be an adventure.

      As a reader, you will also no doubt find descriptions that may be personal as your eyes are opened to the forces said to be daily contesting over you. It is the author’s hope that the events detailed herein, and the characters’ response to those events, will help you to better understand the biblical view of the reality of the world in which we live, so that if it is true, you can live in response to what is and not be a victim of what it only seems to be.¹

      Draw your own conclusions, but be open-minded to the reality of the invisible. It unquestionably exists and impacts everything we do.

      CHAPTER 1

       A GLIMPSE BEYOND

       “… the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing….”

       —2 Corinthians 4:4

       Wednesday, January 30 – MD minus 116 days

      PAUL STOOD WITH Samantha, holding her hand, drying her tears – and it was cold. It is always cold in Williams in January, depressing at times waiting for spring and signs of life. But this was not about life. This was about death, and there had been a lot of that lately.

      There it was, just in front of them, only a few feet away – an expensive, overdressed metal box containing all that was left of Taylor Jones, Samantha’s father, the latest in a seemingly endless stream of victims of senseless violence and terror. He was the thirty-eighth person shot at or killed by an unknown shooter. Once Pastor Holt had his say, they could get out of the open and the box would then be planted six feet down in a concrete vault that the family had been assured would protect the coffin for at least 100 years. Get real, thought Paul as if anyone present would be around in a hundred years to test their warranty. The foolishness of the guarantee was matched only by the seeming foolishness of what was now being said about Taylor Jones. A man of the cloth trying to comfort and make sense in a theater of the absurd.

      Paul Phillips was no genius, but he also was no fool. His life had changed much over the three years he had been attending Williams College. Now with the reality that the so-called “American dream” was mostly a mirage, he had lowered his expectations and simply was looking to complete his business

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