James Marlon - John Crow's Devil

That Sunday, the Apostle York recited eight woes of which the last was the first.

“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! Don’t be foolish, church. You know who this scripture is speaking about. He torments us even today. God is looking for people who will stand up in faith. God is looking for people who will carry out His command no matter how Holy, no matter how brutal, no matter how violent they may be. Who’s ready to be violent for the Lord?

“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. Church, right now we have a problem. A problem of two heads, and one head is causing us to sin. He’s already lured three of you out into the wide road that leads to damnation. Beloved! A body with two heads is not twice as intelligent. He’s a monster! An aberration. The other head isn’t a head, it’s an abscess! The Lord says cut it out! Cut it out! Cut it out! Come now, church, who is ready to be violent for the Lord?”

Is the Sunday after Easter Sunday and the Apostle dealing with we hard. We no feel this fair. Things did hard enough searching the hymnal for hymn that don’t say Jesus. Now the Apostle say we not to have nothing to do with the things of this world cause everything is permit for the Devil. Some people start mumble. But the Apostle don’t say nothing that didn’t come out of God mouth first. Me not goin to be in the way when God come back to judge the quick and the dead. From me is little girl, the Bible say don’t cross with God cause Him would expose we and then Him would punish we. Plenty girl in Hell now feeling fire all the way up to them pokie cause them cross God. God knock down the wall of Jericho and kill every little boy baby in Egypt. God make river stink with blood and Him send Him own people to Babylon fi suffer hard. God kill all of Job pickney and fling Joseph in prison. Is six people outside now a listen to Pastor Bligh and God goin burn them up with Holy fire, just like him burn down the Majestic. You just watch and see.

Hector Bligh think him on fire for the Lord; him just a blaze up the street. Sun did hot but him extra hot. We no know what goin happen to church if anybody else start blaze. But the Apostle a deal with we hard. Him ask we question that nobody can answer. Him ask if we truly ready to follow God, cause all Jamaican people have is mouth. Him ask we again if we really, really, really ready to follow God, cause Christianity is not no play-play religion. Him say to follow God we have to move with God and you can’t move with God if you staying where you be. This is why God can’t bless Gibbeah. This is why there is a plague on the village and evil rising to flourish. The Devil re-staking him claim on Gibbeah but we must resist and stand up for God. Then him get harder, a fling scripture give we like cat o nine pon field negro backside.

“He who has ears, let him hear! If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Him say that is a special word for Gibbeah’s people of God. The word could be for one person or it could be for the whole church. Some of we have to get rid of the thing keeping we down so that we can fly high for God. We have to get rid of sin. The skirts that getting short and shorter. Them Little Richard and Tennessee Ernie Ford and Elvis records, even Peace in the Valley. The ganja, the friend who don’t come to church. The drinking, the fornication, the tobacco; we have to give up everything. Even husband have to give up wife, and mother give up pickney, cause them is the things that we turn into idol the most. Anything that have nothing to do with God have nothing to do with we and we must hate them things. We must hate anybody who don’t worship God the way we worship God, in spirit and truth every day and night. We must hate anybody who don’t see say that when God come to Earth Him was a man who did hard-up and hot and feel the burden of temptation just like we. Anything that God don’t have nothing to do with, we must hate it. Anybody who don’t come to church, we must hate like poison, that is what God say somewhere in the Bible. It don’t matter if is we own mother. The Apostle say that God say that Gibbeah must cut itself off from the sin that so easily entangle. That’s what him say. Him say we need to throw down everything and pick up the cross. Him say we need to hate father and mother and pastor who call themself father. Pastor who out in the street and right now dragging a precious few straight down to Hell. “We need to cut it out, church; we need to cut it out! Cut it out! Cut it out! We can’t serve God and the Devil,” the Apostle say.

After the Apostle done, we did want to kill the sinner man and sinner woman so bad that we did have to count to ten and then again. The Apostle a deal with we hard, but is so truth hard. Plus, nobody believe that after all this time scoring point for the Devil that Pastor Bligh all of a sudden on fire for Je … the Lord. This is the man that drunk from the day after him come. Imagine, Preacher gone to rum bar fi chummy-chummy up with drunkard and whore. This is the man who the Devil use Lillamae Perkins to turn into fool, she who drown herself. Him make all man shame that them is man. Plus, when him go fi baptize Mrs. Smithfield daughter, him nearly drown her. All them things we did think funny one time, but is that bastard make God leave Gibbeah. Is Apostle York who drive him out like how God drive evilness out of the temple. The Apostle a deal with we hard, but it better than the Pastor not dealing with we at all. Now him out o street a preach holy fire, but you no need much to do the Devil work. The Devil will take care of the Rum Preacher, so we must cut him off.

People already getting rid of the redifusion, and throwing way the short-wave radio. Anybody who not washed in the blood of the lamb we not talking to. Is time to be strong and upright. Is time to make sacrifice and we know who fi sacrifice first. Apostle York not fraid fi tell we hard things, that’s why we believe what him say. All we know say is that Deacon Pinckney could only see through one eye before the Apostle come to the village and now him can see through two. The Rum Preacher never bring one single miracle to Gibbeah. Him bring in the Devil fi take up seat like we and him is combolo. That’s why we glad bout what happen to him. We like how God use the Apostle to deal with Pastor Bligh case. Listen, when God use him man, God use him man!

The Apostle in church with the Pastor outside. The Apostle stretch out him hand and start say tongues, but this was no Abba babba tongues, is tongues we never hear yet. Outside, one of them scream and people run to the window to see the six of them scatter from him like ants. People say him was talking bout Jonah and Nineveh when all of a sudden him start bawl out, Jesus! Jesus! and start swing him hand like mad man. Me hear say him two eye go white and him start flap round like him blind. Then him knee buckle and him drop pon the road hard. We stay from up in the church and hear him head buck the road. Then him start shake-shake real hard and foam come out of him mouth. Then the foam turn to red. The Apostle stop speaking in tongue and the choir start to sing Bringing in the Shield We Shall Come Rejoicing. The Pastor still on the ground but him stop shake. Him white suit dirty. And him eye still white. Some of we couldn’t watch no more, cause we did glad, but we did sad too and that feel strange. Plus, we did fraid o God. We see what happen to people who take him name make poppy show. But we shall come rejoicing bringing in the shield. Little later, Mrs. Fracas say she look back one last time and just catch her in the corner of her eye. Widow Greenfield grab Hector Bligh by him two hand and drag him away.