EZRA: Jesus loves you!
And has loved you forever.
His death on the cross, and the blood of his body
gives us the authority to accept Him as our Savior.
So we praise Him!
Praise Him with me now. Repeat. "Praise Jesus!"
ALL: Praise Jesus!
I can't hear you.
ALL: Praise Jesus!
Praise Jesus!
ALL: Praise Jesus!
Not loud enough for him to hear you in heaven.
-Praise the Lord! -ALL: Praise the Lord!
Yes! Yes! Yes! Let's have a hand for Christ.
(ALL APPLAUDING AND CHEERING)
-(GOSPEL MUSIC PLAYING) -(CHOIR SINGING)
EZRA: Not only do you have to praise Jesus in words,
but you must believe in Him, you must trust Him. You must have faith in Him.
One day, I asked God how to receive and give love.
So, I started to pray.
And then out of my mouth came, without me thinking,
"Dear Lord, I love my enemies."
I talk to God like he's here because now I know he is.
And sisters who work out here, brothers who work out here.
We're gonna have a great night, we're gonna have a good night.
We're all gonna feel feel the power of God.
Some of you are going to feel the power of God personally,
like you've never felt power before.
Now in His name, in His glory, in His righteousness,
I would like to present to you, brothers and sisters,
the choir of God.
(CHOIR SINGING)
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Yeah! Praise his name forever.
-EZRA: Hallelujah! -ALL: Hallelujah!
EZRA: I can't hear you!
AUDIENCE: (THROUGH TV) Hallelujah!
EZRA: (THROUGH TV) Hallelujah!
Okay Ezra, here we go.
Sarah, talk to me.
Don't worry, we got some good ones tonight.
EZRA: Who wants to be the first to feel the power of Him?
SARAH: Red hat, second row, stage left, arthritis.
Sister, red hat, come forward.
Jesus has a word with you.
Okay, stage right, blue jacket,
wanted to be seated there
SARAH: (THROUGH EARPIECE) cause he can't hear in his right ear.
I feel a blue jacket. Man in the blue jacket.
Come down. The Lord just told me he wants you to hear better!
Third row, middle, polka dot dress.
Her husband is leaving her.
Your sister, in the polka dot dress.
The Lord can heal broken hearts.
You come and stand before Him.
EZRA: Your arthritis causes you great pain?
Oh, yes!
In the name of Jesus, I pray, dear Lord,
take your disabilities away, right now!
-(GASPS) -(ALL GASPING)
How do you feel?
Oh, I feel different.
EZRA: Take this believer's heart and his ears
and restore it to the way it was when he was born.
The way it was. It will be done!
-(GROANS) -(AUDIENCE GASPS)
Now, praise the Lord!
EZRA: Dear heart, I ask God to reveal joy
and take away the pain that's been in your heart for so long.
I say in His name for this to be done. Now, heal!
How do you feel?
Ezra: Tell me something.
Oh, I feel love.
-Oh, thank you. -Don't thank me, thank Him!
Please seat her. God bless you, dear.
(ALL CHEERING)
EZRA: We've warmed the heart of Jesus.
God bless you all!
Drive safely. Say your prayers and hug your children.
Where'd he come from?
Who's this guy?
Sarah, talk to me.
No, he's not on here. I don't have him.
I don't want any surprises.
I was right by the doors, when the audience came in, Ezra,
you know that.
But I didn't see him. I don't have his story.
ALL: Heal him! Heal him!
-MAN: Hallelujah! Let him walk! -AUDIENCE: Heal him!
ALL: Heal him!
MAN: Let him walk! Let him walk!
(ALL CLAMORING)
SARAH: What's happening?
Okay, keep going.
(AUDIENCE QUIETS DOWN)
Talk to me, brother!
Where's your faith?
I don't feel it.
If you don't have faith, trust and belief in Him,
you will be a loser. Where is your faith?
Dear Lord, I pray,
to take my brother into your arms,
and let him walk.
In the name of Jesus, I command you to stand up.
-WOMAN: Stand! -EZRA: Stand up!
-Stand up. -MAN: You can do it!
Good.
Stand up. Stand up for Jesus!
(ALL CHEERING)
That's good.
You're standing.
That's good.
Okay, I'm gonna let you go on your own.
-Hallelujah! -(ALL APPLAUDING)
-Praise the Lord! -(GOSPEL MUSIC PLAYING)
-You've just seen another miracle tonight. -(CHOIR SINGING)
A most wondrous one.
This man came out of the woods.
Never seen him before, never felt him before.
Nevertheless, he came up,
he received the Spirit and received the faith, the love and the praise,
and he's walking.
He's walking!
Thank God! Thank God, he's walking!
Oh, my God!
Holy shit.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
MAN: Hallelujah!
CONTROL VOICE: There is nothing wrong with your television.
Do not attempt to adjust the picture.
We are now controlling the transmission.
We control the horizontal and the vertical.
We can deluge you with a thousand channels
or expand one single image to crystal clarity
and beyond.
We can shape your vision
to anything our imagination can conceive.
For the next hour,
we will control all that you see and hear.
You are about to experience the awe and mystery
which reaches from the deepest inner mind
to --The Outer Limits.
CONTROL VOICE: Faith is the bedrock of our religious beliefs,
but what happens when that foundation is shaken to its core?
Now that was A1, prime, all-time religion at its best.
Ah, well it's prime A1 something.
But I don't know if you could call it...
You will seek and you shall find. Let's go see these people.
Good evening, I'm Ezra Burnham.
This is my lovely daughter, Sarah.
Not much of a talker, huh?
My name is Luke.
This is Serena, my mother.
-EZRA: It's a pleasure, Serena. -Hello.
-Hi. -Welcome, Luke!
I was shivering back there.
The power of God is so moving.
LUKE: It was an illusion.
I'm glad you liked it.
We can do more.
Are one or both of you affiliated with the law enforcement agency?
No, we're not.
60 Minutes? National Enquirer --?
Dateline, NBC?
Now, Jesus doesn't have a good rapport with the media. Have to be careful.
You are a great man.
People like you and they listen to you,
and I would like my son to learn from you.
Excuse me?
I would like you to teach Luke how to be a preacher.
That's very flattering, Serena.
But I'm not in the disciple business.
We both hope you've been inspired in some way tonight.
God bless you.
SERENA: We can make you famous.
You like the illusion, no?
There are more like it.
I'm not in the business of deceiving people.
Good evening.
But, these illusions are very convincing!
And they could fill your tent with people
and money.
Whoa!
Yeah! That's good. That's good! That's good!
Are you nuts?
Yes, I'm nuts! N-U-T-S!
-Never underestimate the Spirit! -Huh!
This is wonderful, what's happening!
Okay, you tell me the down side.
We have some kid following us around.
I give a powerful anointed finale every night.
I look at him, I see what he does, I figure it out and we remove him.
-I just... -You just what?
I don't know. I don't know. There's just something about this guy.
-Are you jealous? -Oh, come on!
-(CHUCKLING) -Oh, come on.
Honey, no one's ever gonna replace you.
You're my daughter whom I love very much.
You're impossible!
I love you, Sarah.
-(DOOR SLAMMING CLOSED) -Yeah!
(CHOIR SINGING When the Saints Go Marching In --)
(INDISTINCT SPEECH)
We're gonna have a great night. We're gonna have a good night.
All of you are of God. Some of you
are going to feel the power of God personally.
Allow the Lord to come through you.
Let his passion...
Praise the Lord!
In his name...
-Be healed! -Heal!
B-I-B-L-E. "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth."
(ALL CHEERING)
Isn't this wonderful?
EZRA: That's right. That's right. Feel the Spirit coming.
Do you feel the Spirit of the Lord in you tonight?
Because he's in this room with us. He's holy.
(ALL CHEERING)
That's not loud enough. Praise Jesus!
ALL: Praise Jesus!
Praise Jesus!
ALL: Praise Jesus!
CINDY: Hi. Um...
Mr. Luke?
-Yes.-Hi.
I was in the audience tonight.
I thought you were just amazing.
The Spirit is strong in you.
Thank you, uh...
-Cindy. -LUKE: Cindy.
Would you like to come in?
(FINGERS TAPPING ON CALCULATOR)
I've come to a decision.
It's time for Luke to go on stage and preach.
-He's charismatic and he's so natural. -(SIGHS)
You know, I don't think that that's such a good idea.
(CHUCKLES) Why?
Look.
I know that you think that those things he does are tricks.
-Yeah. -Well, I'm not so sure anymore.
You said you were gonna figure it out, right?
Have you?
SARAH: Because I've tried,
I've tried and I come up completely blank.
(CHUCKLES) Come on.
Come on. What if there is something else going on here?
Is something wrong?
I mean, I know they ain't the biggest in the country but...
I want you.
Not as much as I want you.
(MAKING ABNORMAL SOUND)
What's wrong?
-(MONSTROUS SHRIEKING) -(SCREAMING)
(GROWLING)
(SIZZLING)
(INHALING ABNORMALLY)
EZRA: Pick a tree on the other side,
and walk straight towards that tree.
(CHOIR SINGING GOSPEL MUSIC)
Okay, you're doing good.
-Don't be nervous. -LUKE: Do you know what NUTS stands for?
NUTS stands for "Never Underestimate The Spirit."
Just be open to all the Lord's asking you to do.
He's asking you to open your hearts, open your mouth...
So in order to get from the Lord,
you've got to give something...
Lord, help me heal this woman.
You are healed!
-(ALL CHEERING) -LUKE: Praise Jesus!
-(KNOCKING ON THE DOOR) -SARAH: Ezra!
Ezra?
Hey.
I needed to go over some light cues with you.
What? What is it?
(SIGHS)
I found this locket today.
I'm sorry.
The day you were born, I gave her this locket.
And I promised I'd be there for her.
I'd care for her and I'd love her and I'd protect her.
But I failed.
I put my faith in God.
And he ignored me.
And he ignored her.
And she suffered horribly.
He let her die.
(GASPS)
(SIGHS)
(SOBBING)
Hmm.
Oh, I want you to practice your English.
I have their trust.
You have done so well
that you're ready for the next step.
I am bringing Reverend Garland here tonight
and I want you to impress him.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-Okay, yeah. Okay. -Excuse me.
May I help you, officer?
-Sheriff Norm O'Brien. -Ezra Burnham.
Pleasure. Wonder if I could have a word, sir.
If you're talking about the permits for the assembly,
-I have those in my trailer. -No.
-It's not about the permits. -Okay.
We've had a few disappearances in Oregon and Washington
over the last month or so.
-Young women. -Yeah.
I read about that.
That's terrible.
Well, these disappearances, uh, they coincide with your visits.
-You don't think I had anything to do with it. -Oh, no, no, no.
I'm not implying you had anything to do with it.
But, I have seen your show, it's, uh...
It's very impressive.
I can see where a young girl might wanna
join up.
This is a ministry, Sheriff.
It's not a commune or a carnival.
I'm not in the habit of picking up runaways.
I'm in the habit of saving them.
I understand.
All the same, I wonder if I might
take a look around?
I'd like for you to stay for my testimony.
You might find something in your heart that's wanting to get out.
God bless you.
(CHOIR SINGING GOSPEL MUSIC)
Praise the Lord!
Brothers and Sisters, I have a special treat for you tonight.
A new generation of God's service.
Ah, he's here and you may have heard about him.
But let His word speak through him.
Welcome Brother Luke.
(ALL CHEERING)
LUKE: Welcome, my friends!
Welcome to salvation!
Many of you are looking for the way.
You're looking for answers.
I'm here to tell you that I have those answers.
That's right! I have those answers!
It's not money that's going to get you into the Kingdom of Heaven.
It's faith!
Faith in the Lord!
ALL: Hallelujah!
"Put on the whole armor of God,
"that ye may stand against the wiles of the devil."
(ALL APPLAUDING)
Are you ready to put on God's armor?
-MAN: Hallelujah! -(ALL CHEERING)
Are you ready to feel the power of His might?
ALL: Yeah!
To quench the fiery thoughts of the wicked.
To pick up the sword of the Spirit!
ALL: Yeah!
LUKE: Hallelujah!
Ephesians. Why is he quoting from Ephesians?
-I don't know. -ALL: Hallelujah!
Are you ready to fight the fight?
Are you ready to follow without question?
And do whatever he asks of you?
ALL: Yeah!
Who will be the first to feel His power?
SARAH: (THROUGH EARPIECE) Okay, Luke, um,
woman in the purple suit,
third row, has cataracts.
No. Third row.
Where's he going?
Wait, Luke. Luke, this guy's not on our list.
LUKE: What happened to your ear, brother?
I lost it in a thresher when I was a kid.
LUKE: Do you want the Lord to heal your ear, brother?
Yes, Reverend.
SARAH: Luke, what are you doing?
I said, do you want the power of God
to heal your ear, brother?
-Yes, Reverend. -Lord,
give me the power to heal this man.
LUKE: Let me be your vessel,
your prophet.
Kneel. Kneel.
Hear us, Lord.
Hear us!
(PEOPLE SCREAMING)
LUKE: Heal us!
Heal us!
Stand up.
Show them that ear, brother. Show them that ear.
-MAN: Praise the Lord! -See that, ladies and gentlemen...
(ALL APPLAUDING)
MAN: Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
It's a miracle.
-Praise Jesus. -Praise Jesus.
LUKE: Praise Jesus!
MANGLED MAN: Praise Jesus!
Jesus.
You wanna explain that?
-What? -Don't play innocent with me.
The ear and that wind. Where did the wind come from?
It was the power of God.
I mean it.
It's okay with me if you keep your little tricks secret
when it comes to levitation and bleeding on cue, but this is different!
Why?
-Did it scare you? -Of course not.
And what is this about the armor of God?
And the sword of the Spirit?
Just using what you taught me, following your lead.
I didn't give you that lead and I did not give you this coat.
SERENA: No.
-I did.-Serena.
Ezra, I don't believe you've met Reverend Garland before.
I know who you are.
And it's an honor, sir. God bless you!
And mine, Brother Ezra.
You put on quite a show out there.
Thank you, Reverend.
Son,
I can safely say I have never seen anything
like what I saw here tonight.
You're truly blessed.
Your mother told me I was in for something special but this...
This is something touched by the Almighty himself.
Thank you, Reverend.
Oh no, please, Samuel.
Brother Samuel.
So, what brings around the woods tonight?
To be honest, Ezra,
I'm looking for another hour of programming
for our little family over at HBN.
And I think I just may have found it.
(SUBDUED SHOUTING)
Dad!
Dad, what is it?
-It's Luke. -What did he do?
Did you see the service?
Did you see that coat?
That little sermon of his and the ear?
Oh, it was amazing!
-Mesmerizing! -(GRUMBLES)
What? I thought you would be thrilled.
Amazing? Mesmerizing?
Are you starting to be a believer?
That sneaky little bastard is trying to take my revival away from me!
Ah, the student is outstripping the teacher.
And his mother's got Sam Garland to give us an hour on HBN.
The Heavenly Broadcasting Network, that's great!
Oh, yeah, that's great. I can't wait to get there.
What? Since when is HBN not great?
They have 150 million viewers
in 24 countries.
Something is not right.
You said that before and you were right.
-No.-Yes.
-No. -Yes, you said that. You weren't wrong.
-You said that! -Are you really going to refute what we saw?
That man was injured.
Luke healed him.
-No. No. -Yes. When are going to admit it that Luke
truly, truly has a gift.
No, he doesn't!
It goes beyond that!
That's not God's grace!
There's something else going on.
You're jealous.
Of what?
Him? No, I'm not jealous.
(CHUCKLES)
Why do I even bother talking to you.
(GRUNTING)
Let him heal that!
(CHOIR SINGING GOSPEL MUSIC)
LUKE: And I saw the heavens open
and behold a white horse.
And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true.
And righteousness he doth judge.
And make war.
Now, some of you may say that's a scary image.
But I say that's a beautiful prophecy.
For the Good Book tells us
that the word of God is quick and powerful.
And as sharp as a two-edged sword!
LUKE: (THROUGH TV) And you better stand on the right side of that sword
or it'll chop you down!
Are you ready to obey God's Word?
-ALL: Yes! -I said,
I said, "Are you ready to obey God's Word?"
ALL: Yes!
Are you ready to join the army of righteousness using God's sword
to smite all those that would oppose us?
(ALL CHEERING)
Thank you, Brother Luke.
- Thank you. - My brother Ezra, I'm not done with my sermon.
I think you are.
Brothers and sisters, thank you for coming tonight.
God bless you and carry the word of God home in your heart.
(ALL APPLAUDING)
Sing, dammit!
(CHOIR SINGING When the Saints Go Marching In --)
You wanna talk about what happened out there?
(SIGHS)
You think I overreacted?
You don't?
I... I don't know.
Obeying the word?
Joining the righteous?
Those are your words.
Smiting those who oppose us aren't my words.
He got that Scripture wrong.
The word of God
is sharper than any two-edged sword,
not as sharp as a two-edged sword.
He's not being true to the Scriptures.
Okay, he gets a little bit carried away.
He's young.
But haven't you ever overstated to make a point?
Not that message.
Look, I wouldn't be splitting hairs on Scripture interpretation if I were you.
What's that supposed to mean?
It means that ever since Mom died, you've been more about the take
than spreading the word.
I don't have to hear this.
You let your anger consume you.
You twist everything that we were doing.
I got sucked right in there with you, Dad.
I was ready to forget everything that was important.
But Luke, he changed that.
He has a gift.
And I see in him what you used to have.
And that is just true belief in something.
The fire of conviction.
Cause that's what's really eating at you, isn't it?
Is that Luke, he has something to believe in and you don't.
Admit it!
-Say it. -Don't talk to...
(SCREAMING) Stop it!
(DOOR SLAMMING)
Gosh! Sarah, Sarah!
Sarah?
(WOMAN GIGGLING)
-EZRA: Luke. -(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
It's Ezra, I need to talk to you.
Luke?
(ELECTRICAL CHARGING SOUND)
Oh my!
LUKE: May I have my Bible?
What's in that?
Why, the word. Or didn't you know?
You know what I mean.
That electronic circuitry or whatever it is.
Come on, Ezra, you know a magician never reveals his tricks.
I believe you taught me that.
Or did you think that I was truly divine?
Touched by the Almighty Himself.
I want you gone before the service starts tonight.
Or what?
Do you really think this is still your show?
Do you really think those people are showing up
to see your tired, old "Jesus loves you" routine?
And what's your routine?
Smite thy enemies with the sword of righteousness?
-That's about hatred. -It's about the new message.
It's about empowering people and giving them what they really want.
Someone to blame for their lot in life. A way out.
No one is going to follow you.
-Really? -Really.
I don't wanna seem unappreciative.
In fact, I'll even let you come along for the ride
as long as you behave yourself.
But don't think you're still in control.
What about this?
What about it?
I don't believe celibacy was ever part of the deal.
Or are you implying something else?
(DRONING SOUND)
(DOOR CLOSING)
Sheriff O'Brien, please.
Sheriff O'Brien, this is Ezra Burnham.
I need to see you right away.
-Sheriff. -Mr. Burnham.
So, you took the scarf back?
I'm positive it had blood on it.
Anything else suspicious in his trailer?
His Bible.
He's got something very strange inside of it.
Thank you, Mr. Burnham. I'll get some men out there this afternoon.
No, not this afternoon. You can come with me right now.
Well, no sir. I'd need to get a warrant first.
He'll be gone by then.
LUKE: There's no fear of that.
EZRA: How'd you get here?
There are more things than heaven and Earth
that are dreamt of in your philosophy, Ezra.
I'm gonna need you to come with me, sir.
Sorry, Sheriff. I can't do that.
(GROANS)
God!
Serena and I have big plans.
Much too big to let you screw it up.
You are a product from the devil!
(CHUCKLING)
Well, well! A believer after all.
Sorry, Ezra, I'm not the devil.
Oh, yes you are.
Just a pilgrim.
The first of many that will follow.
We could never hope to enslave you using force.
Despite the trickery, we're as frail as you are.
But we are looking for a new home with a simple,
impressionable race and I certainly found one here.
You see, human beings love their freedom.
But throw a little God into it and they're willing to do almost anything.
It took your religion a thousand years to take over a continent.
It'll take mine much less.
You're wrong.
The people will find out what you are!
And that's a false prophet!
They won't follow you!
I wouldn't be so sure.
People wanna be told what to think.
They want something to believe in and someone to blame...
-No, no, no! -I can give them all of that.
I can start with you!
Good catch.
I took the liberty of calling them anonymously.
I hope you don't mind.
"I beheld Satan
"as lightning fall from heaven."
Very good.
Chapter 10, verse 18.
The Book of Luke.
(SIRENS WAILING)
LUKE: That body didn't just show up in Ezra's trailer.
You gotta face the facts, Sarah.
But I mean, he was never the same after my mother died but...
I mean, I just don't believe this.
(DOGS BARKING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(VOICES FROM RADIO)
Thanks, I just think that right now, I really just need to be by myself.
Of course, I understand.
Jesus!
-(WHISPERS) Sarah. -(GASPS)
-It's lies. It's all lies. -My God, are you hurt?
No! Luke has been doing all of this.
What do you mean Luke is behind all this?
He shot Sheriff O'Brien. Look at the body they're pulling out of my trailer.
Why, why, why would he do something like this?
'Cause he's not what he seems. He's not what he seems.
He's got this strange power and somehow it comes from that Bible of his.
-Oh! -I know how that sounds.
But you must believe me.
He must be stopped.
-Okay. I believe you. -Okay? Okay, good.
-I believe you and I wanna help you. -Okay, good.
Okay, so you need to come with me and you need to speak to the police.
No! No.
-Dad I can't help you... -No, no, no. Don't you see, that's what he wants.
He wants to make me the killer.
The evil one, when it's been him all along.
Dad, you have to come with me and talk to them.
No!
Don't do this!
"He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it."
It was my anger, rage, bitterness,
it was my hatred that brought this here.
I brought the serpent into my congregation.
I brought him into my heart.
And I'm the one that's gonna get him out.
-No, that's not true. -No, no, no.
Believe in me, okay. Have faith.
(GASPS)
REVEREND SAMUEL: We've seen some dark days, my friends,
dark days indeed.
The shepherd has frayed from his flock.
And so, my friends, betrayed the deliverance of brotherhood.
(ALL AGREEING)
But even if he has fallen,
his good work goes on.
ALL: Hallelujah!
So it gives me great pleasure to announce
that our HBN family will be joined by a new member.
MAN: Praise the Lord!
Please welcome Reverend Luke Todd.
(ALL APPLAUDING)
Thank you, Reverend Garland.
It is an honor and a privilege
to be a part of the Heavenly Broadcasting Network.
Welcome, my friends, to the beginning.
(ALL CHEERING)
The beginning of a new era of destiny for the faithful.
For those that truly believe.
LUKE: My friends, evil is everywhere.
Brother Ezra fought it, but he succumbed in his battle.
I am ready to carry on that fight.
And yes, it is a war.
A war against evil...
(INDISTINCT SPEECH)
Yes.
-(CHOIR SINGING GOSPEL MUSIC) -Are you with me?
Are you with me?
I said, "Are you with me?"
(ALL APPLAUDING)
LUKE: Are you ready to follow His word?
Are you ready to do what needs to be done without question?
Praise Jesus!
ALL: Praise Jesus!
Praise Jesus!
-(WOMAN SCREAMING) -In the name of Jesus, I send you to hell!
No!
(LOUD WHIRRING SOUND)
(WHIRRING ENDS ABRUPTLY)
(ELECTRIC MELTDOWN SOUND)
(LOUD BLAST)
(WOMAN SOBBING)
(GROANING)
I love you, honey.
I love you.
I'll stay.
(SOBBING) No.
(SIRENS WAILING)
(CHOIR SINGING GOSPEL MUSIC)
MAN: And now, broadcasting live, it's The Hour of Power.
(ALL CHEERING)
Our savior was taken from us before his time.
He was persecuted for what he believed and yet
his faith
lives on in those who follow and so I ask you,
are you ready to follow him?
(ALL AGREEING)
Are you ready to make his death worthy of your faith?
To join him in his fight against the godless ones?
(ALL AGREEING)
Will you remember his sacrifice,
his death for you!
Oh! Oh, praise his name!
Praise his name!
ALL: Praise Luke!
(CHANTING "PRAISE LUKE")
CONTROL VOICE: Blind faith can lead us toward the light,
or plunge us into eternal darkness.