The Trinity Game Read Online Free

in churches, then on television for the last fourteen. The man had his act down cold—didn’t even need the Bible, but for its value as a prop. And that was no small value. He brandished his blue Bible to maximum effect, flipped pages with a flourish, and punctuated important words by
thwacking
the pages with his left hand, calling attention to the bling on his wrist with each
thwack.
    “Friends, I have some very bad news for you,” said Trinity, still smiling. “I’ve been called upon this day to reveal a hard truth. And I ain’t gonna sugar-coat it—
thwack—
NO, sir! I’m here today to tell you, most people who call themselves Christians have a fundamental
mis
-understanding of the nature of
sin
.” He stretched it into a two-syllable word.
    Trinity stopped at the lectern. His eyes fell shut and he pulled his chin to the right, offering his profile as the camera cut to a close-up. He held the Bible to his forehead for a few seconds, then lowered it, faced forward, and opened his now watery eyes, blinking rapidly. A man of God, on the verge of tears.
    “Forgive me. I must share with you what happened last night as I prepared today’s sermon. I was sitting in my study, pen in hand, and the Devil came calling. Yes, the—
thwack
—Devil! The Devil came to me last night and said, ‘Reverend Tim, stop what you’re doing.’ He said, ‘The people are not ready for this, you must notreveal it. Seal up these things and do not write them.’ Oh yes, and he presented himself to me as an angel of the Lord…but you and I know that the Lord would never stop a prophet from speaking the truth. So I said, ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ and his white robes fell away and he stood before me as a naked beast.” Trinity blew out a long breath. “Was I afraid? You know it, brother! You bet I was. But more than afraid, I was—and I know that it wasn’t me speaking, but for the power of Christ, I know it was God speaking through me—I stood up from my desk and I shouted, ‘You Devil, go straight back to Hell! Take one step closer and I will
strike
you down—” Trinity slashed at an imaginary devil with his Bible “—and I will
kick
you down—” he stomped hard on the stage “—and I will beat you like a redheaded stepchild!”
    Daniel had seen his uncle’s act thousands of times and had hoped never to see it again. “What’s the point of this, Nick?”
    Nick kept his eyes on the television. “Keep watching.”
    Trinity held the Bible to his chest. “And just like that—glory be to God—the Devil disappeared, leaving behind only the stench of a goat.” He smiled and waved away the stench with the Good Book, and the camera cut away to the congregation as they laughed on cue.
    It was not the megachurch of a Joel Osteen or Creflo Dollar, but Trinity’s flock was not small. Daniel estimated about five thousand in attendance, give or take a few lost souls.
    Trinity let the laughter play out just the right length of time, then turned serious. “I know in my heart, my life was saved last night. Saved by God, so I could bring you this truth about
sin
. See, most folks think sin is bad behavior. You break God’s laws, and you have committed sin. But that is a
mis
-understanding of sin’s true nature. Those bad behaviors are not sin, not in the true sense. They are the
result
of sin. Sin is not something you do. In reality, sin is a
demonic force
that acts upon you,
causing
you to break God’s laws.”
    Trinity flipped a few pages and glanced at his Bible. “Romans 3:9—we are under the
power
of sin, 6:6 and 6:17—we are
enslaved
by sin, and 5:13—‘sin was in the world before the law.’” He waved a finger in the air and grinned like Clarence Darrow on closing summation to the jury, knowing he’d proved his case. “In the world,
before
the law. If sin was in the world before the law, then it is not caused by breaking the law, it
precedes
the law. You see? Sin is a
demonic force
that has power over us,