Christian fiction; Second Advent -- Fiction; Tribulation (Christian eschatology) -- Fiction
It was partly Oriental, partly occidental, and consisted of a
curious-toned darkish green military tunic, heavily-frogged with gold,
and with a wide, gold-braid collar. The buttons of the tunic were
separate emeralds set in circles of diamonds, and enclosed in a wide
circlet of gold. He wore white knee-breeches, and high Hessian boots,
adorned at the heels with gold spurs. Over his shoulders, clasped at
the neck with a large gold-and-precious-stone buckle of the same
mysterious form as the hieroglyphic crest at the head of the Programs,
he wore a wonderful burnouse of white and gold fleece, the gold
predominating over the white, and flashing fiercely, gorgeously in the
sun. His leonine head was surmounted with a dazzling covering that was
neither a crown, a mitre, nor a turban, but partook of the nature of
all three. It was profusely bedecked with the most costly of precious
stones. The largest diamond ever seen, shaped as an eight-pointed
star, and measuring nearly six inches from point to point, was set in
the front-centre of the mitre-turban-crown. With the sun shining upon
it, it was impossible to gaze upon the diamond.
Riding up to the door of the porch of the Temple, his horse's
fore-hoofs resting on the upper of the four steps, he paused only to
return the salutes of the ten kings, then flung himself from the
saddle, and waited a moment until his horse was led away. Then turning
outwards towards the way by which he had come, he surveyed the scene
below him.
Never in the history of the world had anything more Wonderful been
seen. Several million people were gathered--streets were blocked;
walls of the city, roofs of the houses and palaces and public buildings
were packed. Every window that faced the mount was crowded. Flags
flew everywhere within the city, and beyond the walls, where hundreds
of thousands of acclaiming people were gathered, every eye was directed
towards that Temple entrance where Anti-christ, the World's Emperor
stood.
As he turned to face the millions of acclaiming people, a gun was fired
from the grounds of his palace, and at the same instant, a ball of
white, which had hung at the head of the flag-staff on the roof of his
palace, suddenly broke, and there swept out upon the light breeze, an
enormous white silk flag, the centre of which bore the mystic
inscription that had already appeared on the official programs, and
which he wore in gold jewels for a buckle of his bernouse.
The eyes of Apleon flashed with a curious pride as he saw the great
white flag break in the air, while a smile, diabolical as Hell itself,
curled his lips. It seemed almost as though it was to see that
damnable challenge flung forth to the wind, that he had turned, more
than to acknowledge the acclaim of the gathered millions of the
deceived, lie-deluded people.
A moment later, he turned into the Temple. The ten kings, Babylonian
merchant-princes, and others of note following.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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