Story
A missionary’s plane tragically crashes over the ocean on his way to Africa. Using a lifejacket as a raft and carrying only a Bible, the missionary comes upon an uncharted island. As he explores, he finds buildings built with old architectural styles, and within signs of a technically advanced civilization. Devices and appliances he had never seen or used before filled the buildings. Books, journals, and letters in the civilization’s own language were scattered both in the town and around the island. On the east side of the island stands a huge structure – miles long and miles wide – with rivers entering the four corners. Although the missionary was able to get in many of the other buildings, this master structure couldn’t be entered, at least at first.
As the missionary searched the island, he learned the native culture’s language, and began to be able to read the documents he found. He learned that he had come upon the lost civilization of Atlantis! He also learned that the large ominous structure on the east side was a shrine built around what the Atlantians considered holy land. The Atlantains recorded that this holy land contained a spirit with an immense sword that would paralyze any man who steps on the holy ground. The spiritual leaders of Atlantis built a shrine around this holy land, and lived in this shrine.
Now most of the spiritual leaders of Atlantis were interested in finding a way to trick this spirit. They assumed that the spirit was protecting something of immense value in the holy land, and they wanted access to it. They devised plans to try to trick the spirit and used all the weapons at their disposal, but nothing even touched the spirit.
In the midst of this one spiritual leader took a different path. Early on he concluded that there was no way the Atlantians were ever going to get past the spirit. He also concluded that the spirit was guarding the land for someone else – someone much more powerful. So everyday this spiritual leader knelt in front of the spirit and prayed that the spirit would reveal it’s leader.
Now the holy land this spirit was guarding contained an ancient, high-reaching tree with small fruits growing on it’s branches. One day while the devote spiritual leader was praying that the spirit would reveal it’s leader, one of the fruits fell off the tree and rolled through the holy land and out of the holy land stopping right at the spiritual leader’s feet. The spiritual leader took the fruit as a sign that someone was honoring his request, and ate the fruit.
As time went on, conflict rose between the Atlantian common folk and the spiritual leaders. The spiritual leaders became more and more obsessed with trying to destroy the spirit and access the riches they presumed the spirit was protecting while the Atlantian common folk wanted to leave the spirit be, and spend resources on the good of Atlantis in general. The spiritual leaders argued venomously with the common folk that by allocating resources to defeat the spirit, they would become in possession of a treasure – or power – that would improve the lives of everyone. The common folk secretly believed that even if the spiritual leaders did come in contact of such a treasure, they would never reap the benefits of it.
War broke out between the common folk and the spiritual leaders. The war resonated throughout all of Atlantis. The majority of the Atlantians were killed. The ones who were not killed in the war fled from the island and began a new life scattered around the globe.
The devote spiritual leader did not take part in this conflict, or the forthcoming war, but locked himself in his private study and prayed even more fervently for the spirit to help them. The fruit that he had received from the holy land seemed to sustain him as the civilization of Atlantis deteriorated. He ended up becoming the only human still alive on the island.
The devote leader thought of leaving the island, of exploring the rest of the world, but he dared not leave the presence of the spirit, for he was afraid that if he left, his prayer would not be answered. He still longed to know where the spirit came from, and whom the spirit was working for.
Time passed, and the devote leader reached one hundred years old. He spent his days watching over and taking care of what remained of the Atlantian civilization after the war. Although he was old, his heart and mind remained strong and he still longed to see his prayer answered.
One hundred more years passed, and much to his surprise, the devote leader remained alive. He did not feel any older than he did at one hundred! He made it his mission to keep the Atlantian civilization in tact for the time when a traveler would stumble upon the island.
Seven hundred years passed from the time of the war to the time the missionary ventured onto the island. The Atlantian island contained an assortment of ships and devices that the missionary could use to leave the island, but he felt that there was something for him to do on the island, and so he continued exploring. He learned the language of the Atlantians, and learned how to use the advanced technology they possessed. His eyes soon focused on the huge shrine on the island. The path to the holy land inside the shrine was immensely guarded by the spiritual leaders of long ago, for they did not want the common folk just wondering in. Only those who had knowledge of Atlantian culture and puzzles could get into the shrine and then the inner shrine where the holy land would be found.
Through much work the missionary got into the inner shrine, and saw himself the holy land and the massive spirit guarding it. The missionary knew better than to try to step on the holy land, for it was obvious to him that this holy land the Atlantians spoke of was indeed the Biblical remains of the original Garden of Eden. The spirit with the massive sword was the angel God had placed at the entrance to make sure no one could get back in to the garden. The ancient, high-reaching tree with small fruits growing on it’s branches was, of course, the Tree of Life. The Bible states that if anyone ate off the Tree of Life, they would live forever.
Near the inner shrine the missionary also found the private living grounds of the devote spiritual leader. Nearly eight hundred years old, the leader was weak physically, but his heart and mind were still strong. The leader had quite the shock when he saw the missionary, for the leader had not had contact with any human being for seven hundred years. By this point the missionary had learned the language of the Atlantians, and was able to communicate to the devote leader. The devote leader explained how he was the only remaining Atlantian on the island, and how he had prayed for seven hundred years that the spirit would reveal to him it’s leader, and that he would know God.
The missionary spent one year teaching the devote leader about the spirit, and the One who the spirit was working for. Although he never made it to Africa, the missionary knew it was God’s plan all along for him to find this island, and to disciple the leader. The prayer the leader uttered for nearly seven hundred years was finally answered.
One morning the missionary woke up to find the devote leader gone. The missionary searched the island all over, but could not find the leader or any trace of where he went. None of the leader’s possessions were missing, nor had any of the ships been taken - He had simply vanished into thin air. Despite the disappearance of the leader, the missionary had peace about the situation. He climbed aboard one of the Atlantian ships, and sailed back home, feeling that he had accomplished his purpose.