Opening Statement

The courtroom is hushed. The gallery is filling in as people are trying to find seats. Camera operators are positioned at the perimeter. There is even one operator with a camera on his shoulder to capture close-ups and reaction shots. It’s like the set for a reality TV show. And in fact it is. There is a buzz in the courtroom. The bailiff stands at attention near the door.

Bailiff

All rise. The Global Supreme Court is now in session. These grand jury proceedings are being broadcast live worldwide. Special Master Simon Wright presiding. Be seated.

Special Master Wright enters and takes his seat. He arranges his papers deliberately. He does not look up immediately. When he does, he surveys the room — the jury, the gallery, the cameras — with an expression that suggests he has made his peace with something he does not entirely accept. He speaks first to the room and then to the camera.

Special Master Wright

I will state for the record —

This thought is interrupted as the man with the roving camera makes his way right in front of him. Wright sees the red light going on. His annoyance grows.

and for the worldwide audience now watching — that I argued against these proceedings being conducted publicly. I was overruled.

I will also state for the record that the charges document which forms the basis of these proceedings was leaked to the public before this court had an opportunity to review or seal it. By the time we were aware, it had been seen by millions. I want it known that this court did not choose to make this a public spectacle. That choice was made for us. By persons unknown.

He glances briefly at the cameraman. Then away.

I also argued that the charges as submitted did not constitute a criminal matter within the jurisdiction of this court. I was overruled on that as well.

I have read the statement of charges. I found it —

He stops, searching for the right word.

unusual. What is being alleged here is not a robbery. It’s not a corporate fraud. It’s not a war crime with a documented chain of command. What’s being alleged is a conspiracy of cosmic proportions purportedly spanning the full length of human history. Prosecuted against a defendant that I’m sure myself or any of those in this grand jury would not be able to locate in a police lineup.

In thirty years on the bench I have never seen anything like it. I want that on the record. And I have no idea how to marshal this grand jury through something that belongs in a church or a cult meeting.

He glances at his papers. Then back at the room.

Now, I will also note for the jury — and for those watching —

That cameraman is in his face again.

that these are grand jury proceedings. There is no defense counsel. The prosecution presents. The jury evaluates. That is the format.

However, given the nature of these charges — and given that the defendant has no legal representation in this room — I will, where I deem it necessary, raise the questions a reasonable defense would raise. Consider me a skeptic with a gavel. That is the most I can offer by way of fairness to the defendant.

He looks directly at Peter.

Mr. Lalonde. I have read a summary of your submission. You better have a lot more than what I saw in the summary.

Proceed.

Peter stands. He does not go to the podium. He stands in the open floor between his table and the jury. He looks at the twelve. Then at the cameras. Then back at the jury. When he speaks it is quiet. Certain.

Peter

There is in fact a genocidal maniac on the loose.

In every country. In every city. In every household.

A long beat. He does not move.

And nobody is looking for him.

He lets it sit. Someone in the gallery shifts. Peter doesn’t move.

You just read the charges. Genocide. Fraud. Conspiracy. A history of destruction stretching back to the beginning of recorded time. That history speaks clearly enough for itself.

But I want to be clear about something before we go any further.

I am not really here to try Satan for his history, except for his stated goal and actions that cast their shadow into this day.

A beat. He looks at the jury.

I am here because of a massive conspiracy. A specific, documented, operational plan to position himself for a final confrontation with Jesus Christ at His Second Coming. And that plan is not hidden. It is not theoretical.

It is here. In the real world. In the news. In the technology. In the alignment of nations happening in front of your eyes right now. The final battle is fully underway and on its way to a decisive climax.

He pauses.

Now, this is a court of law. So to prove that these nine words lay out Satan’s entire end-time scenario, we don’t need three degrees in theology — or even seven. We don’t need to untangle heads and horns and beasts, or wade through the charts people make of the book of Revelation, interesting as they are. I’m simply going to document these fulfillments happening right before your eyes, in those exact nine words — and then ask you to join me on the jury. Challenge me. Validate or invalidate every one of them yourselves. For me, this has been a journey of over four decades. Now I’m going to take you on that same guided tour, right along with me.

He walks slowly to his podium.

My entire case — every piece of evidence you are going to hear in this trial — rests on nine words. Not buried in complex theology. Not requiring arcane knowledge or ancient writings. Nine words spoken by Jesus of Nazareth approximately two thousand years ago. Not a chapter. Not a book. Not a sermon.

Nine words.

He picks up his Bible. Opens it. Looks at the jury.

I have this deep-seated feeling I might just be able to take you not just beyond any reasonable doubt, but beyond any doubt the following facts: God made His opening end-time move — replanting one tree, Israel in her homeland in 1948 — Satan responded in an absolute panic with great fury because he knew his time was short. He began to make his counter-moves. Forty-seven of his own trees to be exact. One worse than the other. Every single one sprouted in exactly 1948, right alongside the fig tree. They are not little sprouts today. They are giant redwoods that dominate our modern world.

And those nine words contain every one of them. Jesus documented Satan’s entire battle plan — in advance. Hidden in plain sight. Waiting for a generation that would finally have the context to see it.

Only at this precise moment in time has anyone in the history of mankind ever seen these trees?

He sets the Bible down. A quiet pause. He turns directly to the camera.

That is my case. That is all of it. Nine words from Jesus Christ — and forty-eight pieces of evidence that are going to have the same sense of revelation in your mind that they’ve had in mine, and could perhaps have you believe — beyond any reasonable doubt — that those nine words describe the world you are living in right now. I mean, wow, right? Imagine if I succeed?

He pauses. A quiet smile.

I don’t have a law degree. I don’t have three degrees in theology.

A few jurors smile. The tension breaks slightly.

I’ve done my homework. I’ve read the cases. I even watched Matlock. In primetime.

But I do have something worth more in this particular case than any of that.

I have the evidence.

Establishing the Witness

Peter

My entire case rests on the testimony of one witness. One. Everything else — forty-eight pieces of documented evidence — flows from nine words spoken by that witness approximately two thousand years ago.

His name is Jesus of Nazareth. And He is the Son of the Living God.

Wright stirs immediately. He leans forward.

Special Master Wright

Mr. Lalonde — approach the bench.

The gallery murmurs. Peter walks to the bench. The white noise system engages. The jury watches but cannot hear.

The white noise cuts. Peter walks back to the floor. The jury has watched the entire exchange without hearing a word. They read the room. Something happened at that bench. Peter does not ease back in. He stands in the open floor. When he speaks he is calm and certain — a man who just proved something and knows it.

Peter

Ladies and gentlemen — nine words.

He holds up his Bible and reads them to the room. To the jury. To the worldwide audience. As if holding a murder weapon up as evidence.

Take a moment. Look at the monitor. Count the words. Is there anyone here who does not see nine?

He closes the Bible. Sets it on the podium. Looks at the jury.

That is the testimony of my witness. Nine words. And inside those nine words are forty-eight documented fulfillments — describing the world you are living in right now. You will note that this passage does not just mention the fig tree. It mentions all the trees. And 47 of those forty-eight trees are Satan’s entire end-time game plan.

He pauses.

Now you may ask — why did no one see this before? There are great theologians. And you are not one? I would have to admit you’re 100% right. Except for one thing.

It began with a cheap flashlight.

The Flashlight

Peter

Although I didn’t know it at the time, my journey into prophecy began on a beach. We were barely out of our teens when my brother Paul and I went to see Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. We came out of that theater completely pumped. Walking home that night along the beach near our parents’ house — it was pitch dark. No stars. No moon. Not a single light anywhere. But there was a glow on the surface of the water.

He pauses.

As we got close, we were stunned. The glow was coming from under the water. We didn’t hesitate. Clothes still on, we marched right in.

He pauses. A flicker of the memory crosses his face.

That feeling when your hand closes around something you weren’t expecting, under water, in the dark — I didn’t have a word for it then. I just remember it felt like a jolt.

A few jurors smile.

It was a flashlight. A cheap one.

He lets it breathe.

Here’s what I’ve thought about ever since. What if we hadn’t just seen Indiana Jones? What if we’d come home from playing baseball? We’d have walked right past that light. Wouldn’t have looked twice. And what if we’d just come out of Jaws?

He looks at the jury.

Wouldn’t have gone in that water for a million bucks.

A beat.

Context meant everything.

He holds up his Bible.

The disciples sat at the feet of Jesus. They heard Him speak these nine words. They wrote them down faithfully. But they didn’t even know what a flashlight was. The greatest Bible scholars throughout all of history could not see what was under that water. Not even ten years ago.

We are the first generation in history with the context to know what we are looking at.

Those nine words are the flashlight. And what’s under the water — forty-seven of those glows — is Satan’s battle plan. Documented. Timestamped. Exposed.

And forty-eight times in this trial — you are going to get the jolt.

He walks back to his podium. He looks at the jury. Then at the cameras. When he speaks the next words it is quiet. Final.

Peter

“I believe — Jesus exposed Satan. Now I’m going to try to prove it to you.”

He sits. The room does not fill in. The Special Master says nothing. The cameras hold.

End of Opening Statement

Prophetic Fulfillment 1 follows.