Acts of God is the concluding novel of the Christ Clone Trilogy, written by James BeauSeigneur. This book primarily chronicles the Bowl Judgements as foretold in the Book of Revelation, as well as the institution of Mark of the beast, and the growing persecution of the followers of God. Other biblical prophecies from the Book of Revelation and the Book of Daniel are depicted as well.
As with the first and second book in this trilogy, many footnotes are used from various sources. These sources include not only the Bible, but also sources that were used as the author performed research and analysis to ensure scientific accuracy in the depiction of fictional events.
Plot The book starts before the conclusion of Birth of an Age. Christopher Goodman's address from the top of the Third Temple in Jerusalem is revisited, concluding with Christopher leaping from the top of the temple, and caught by the visible Spirit beings, whom Christopher identified as Theatans on the flight to Jerusalem with Decker Hawthorne and Robert Milner. Christopher is an extremely popular Secretary General of the United Nations, who was nominated following his supernatural healing of various members of the Security Council, and elected unanimously prior to his assassination, and subsequent resurrection.
Christopher reveals to the world that humanity is on the brink of its greatest evolutionary step, which people are now heralding as the New Age. However, given the nature of this evolutionary step - that of evolving into nearly omnipotent Spirit Beings - this step must be taken collectively by the entire species, rather than through natural selection of individual members of the human race. If any significant portion of the human population balks at taking this evolutionary step, the evolutionary process will be a failure, and humankind will lose the opportunity to evolve, and remain a stagnant species doomed for extinction. The greatest threat to humankind in taking this evolutionary step is represented by Fundamentalist Christians and various Jewish sects, including a group of 144,000 Jews which call themselves the Koum Damar Patar or KDP for short. These groups remained loyal to Yahweh, whom Christopher has identified as a power-hungry Theatan, intent on keeping humankind as they are, in order to prevent them from becoming his equal.
Christopher vows not to let this happen, and declares the New Age, starting with year 1. March 11, the day of Christopher's resurrection, is declared New Year's Day. Three days after Christopher's address at the Temple, the bodies of John and Saul Cohen are called into Heaven. This is captured on tape by the media, but is dismissed by Christopher as dramatics by Yahweh to frighten people away from their destinies. A life-size statue of Christopher is erected at the top of the Temple, and speakers are set to broadcast Christopher's Address to Humankind in a repeating loop.
Here, Christopher also begins a revitalization plan for healing the Middle East, which was decimated in a recent plague of mass psychosis that affected every man, woman, and child in the region, which now sits bereft of humanity. The first priority in fixing this region is to rebuild the city of Babylon in Iraq. This site is chosen as a symbol of defiance toward Yahweh, since that was where humankind was first attacked by Yahweh when he afflicted them with tongues when they were erecting the Tower of Babel. He also indicated that he planned to move the United Nations main headquarters there, relocating from the Secretariat Building in New York City.
Throughout the world, people start experiencing brief moments of supernatural power. These powers include the ability to control others' behavior, telepathy, precognition, rapid healing of fatal injuries, and very detailed memories of past lives. Most people's experiences are very brief, mostly linked to a single incident, however these episodes happen all over the world and begin to happen more frequently. Christopher attributes this phenomenon to the fact that people are inching ever closer to that evolutionary step which will bring humanity into its New Age. Christopher then reveals that he will help accelerate this process, by instituting a Eucharist. This Communion remains a closely guarded secret, only to be revealed when the time is right. The communion is said to give people immortality along with great power.
Decker meets with Christopher to discuss this communion, and points out that giving immortality and power to the Christian Fundamentalists, KDP and the other Jews set against Christopher will be counter-productive. He suggests that the best way to keep Christopher's enemies away from the communion is use their own prophecies against them. If a mark is required to receive communion, as well as a pledge by individuals to aid Christopher and all of humankind by working toward the New Age, then Christians, Jews and the KDP will avoid taking the mark, and lack the powers, and immortality to continue their subversive behavior against Humankind. Christopher decides to show Decker the Communion. As they walk, Christopher reminds Decker that Christopher's foster father, Harry Goodman, had developed so-called C-Cells after the discovery of Jesus's blood on the Shroud of Turin. He also reminds Decker of Robert Milner's advanced age, yet remarkable health, due to a blood transfusion with Christopher years before. Decker correctly concludes that the Communion must consist of the distribution of Christopher's blood among the population. Christopher confirms this, and indicates that for the last two years, scientists and technicians have been frantically cloning Christopher's blood, and putting it in medicinal capsules. They enter a huge warehouse that was stocked floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall with Christopher's blood.
The mark of communion is a depiction of the numerals 666, since Christopher's name adds up to that value in the Hebrew alphabet, with the intent being to keep Christians and other religious fundamentalists away. As the opening of the clinics to the public draw closer, these clinics become the targets for Christian protesters. These protests grow more violent and when the doors are finally opened, the clinics become the targets of terrorist attacks, apparently by Fundamentalists trying to prevent people from taking the communion. Public clamor for the capture and punishment of these terrorists grows until Christopher is forced to take stronger actions. Capital punishment is extended to Christian terrorists, and their fundamentalist leaders. Other than zealots and terrorists, Christians mostly avoid the clinics.
Decker also avoids taking the mark. When confronted by Christopher, in his office in Babylon, Decker, now 72 years old, indicates that he doesn't want to live forever. He still misses his family who died in The Disaster years before, and although he is in no hurry to die, he will welcome the rest when it comes. Christopher points out that Decker, who had been writing speeches for Christopher, and had been promoting New Age principles and philosophies, must have forgotten that all that applied to him as well. His wife and daughters had reincarnated immediately after their deaths, and Decker will not be old and tired after the Communion, and he could go to them and reunite his family. Decker, very excited by this prospect, immediately heads out, and is on his way to the nearest clinic when he is abducted by the KDP.
The KDP take Decker to Petra, Jordan where he stays in a one-room building. He is confronted by Scott Rosen, the son of Decker's late friends Joshua and Ilana Rosen. Scott is revealed to be a member of the KDP and was instructed by God to attempt to convert him. After a violent outburst by Decker, which results in a black eye for Scott, Decker grew calm and attempted to not listen to Scott. Scott presents very convincing arguments about the existence of God, the accuracy of the Bible, and the messages it contains, and how Christopher was a liar and the personification of evil. Decker, unimpressed, says nothing and refuses to react to anything Rosen tells him. Rosen presents Decker with a Bible which belonged to Decker's late wife, Elizabeth, complete with her handwriting and notes. After another session with Rosen, Decker continuing to refuse to give Rosen the satisfaction of knowing that some of what he said got through, Rosen releases Decker from captivity, promising him a ride to Israel after their observance of Shabbat.
That evening, walking around Petra, Decker meets Rhoda Donafin, the widow of Decker's closest friend Tom Donafin, as well as his sons, Tom Jr., and Decker Donafin (this is the first Decker knew that Tom named one of his children after him, and it affects him greatly). Decker meets several people around Petra, and realizes that none of the people he met were anything like the overzealous, wild-eyed fundamentalists that he saw on TV, or read about in the papers. These people were caring, friendly and scared. Rhoda then indicates to Decker that they are to be attacked by Christopher and the armies of the world, even offering Decker a timeframe for when this is to occur. Decker promises that this is not the case, and if it is, he would talk sense to Christopher, and maybe they could all become friends - or at the least allies - in the evolution of Humankind. Rhoda reacts with an amused dismissal of Decker's promise, however the two remain friendly even if they disagree on this. Decker ate with the Donafins, and treated them to stories of their father when he and Decker used to share adventures and misadventures when they were younger.
After Shabbat, Decker is provided a ride, as promised, to Israel, where he catches a plane back to his home in Maryland where he plans to rest for a few days. On his way home, he notices that everyone bearing Christopher's mark is also bearing bandages that cover up painful sores and blisters. Decker decides to hold off on the Communion for a bit.
This first plague of sores caused outrage among Humankind who demanded that Christopher retaliate against Yahweh. The United Nations institutes penalties for sedition and collusion with Yahweh. Leaders of Fundamentalists groups are subject to capital punishment. The rationale is that although capital punishment is distasteful for many, removal of the opposing force is necessary to Humankind's evolutionary journey, and furthermore, individuals will be reincarnated free of their past prejudices and philosophies, and will join everyone else in the procession into the New Age.
During Decker's vacation, the next plague begins with the transformation of all the oceans of the earth to blood. The world watches in horror as all aquatic life, and anyone in boats during the transition from water to blood were killed. After a couple of days people in coastal areas grow sick from the decay and stench of the rotting blood, and the surface of the oceans begin to scab over. People are outraged and grow extremely angry toward Yahweh whom Christopher points out was responsible for this plague. A week after the plague began, Robert Milner walks out to a bloody coastline and throws a charged quartz crystal that lands on the scab, liquefying it, and turning the liquid back into water. The water begins to replace blood in a spreading radius, and after a day, all the oceans are once again water, although, they remain void of life.