Free John's Story by Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins Page B

John’s permission,” Polycarp said.
    “Of course!” John said. “I covet your evaluation of each day’s work, my friend. Feel free to pore over the manuscript with Polycarp.”
    “Thank you, John. Thank you from my heart. And now, dear brethren, I believe the Lord would have me pray for you.”
    Ignatius had John sit in the chair and Polycarp kneel beside him. He placed his hands atop their heads and lifted his eyes to heaven. “Our great God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, hallowed be Your name. I beseech You this day on behalf of these two, my friend and my mentor, believing that You have called them and set them apart for an enterprise sacred and holy. You confirmed within both their hearts that this mission is of You, and You brought them through valleys of purging to make of them pure vessels for Your use.
    “I pray You would quicken John and fill him with Your Spirit, flooding his heart and mind and soul with what You would have him record. And I pray that the result of this divine work will settle any question of the deity of Your Son, refuting heresies that blaspheme the truth of His identity. We offer our thanks for the privilege of having a part in this, and may we never be the same because of it. I pray in the holy and matchless name of Your dear Son, Jesus the Christ. Amen.”

SEVEN
    U naware until he opened his eyes that Ignatius had left and quietly pulled the door shut behind him, John silently rose and moved to the other end of the room. Polycarp slipped into the chair and took quill in hand, dipping it into the ink until the liquid was drawn into the stem. John was aware of Polycarp’s eyes, showing his readiness, but John was also determined not to utter one word he was not entirely convinced was from the mouth of God Himself.
    John steepled his index fingers and pressed them against his lips as he slowly walked to the window and back, thinking, open to the leading of the Spirit, listening for that still, small voice. And as John painstakingly began to softly speak, Polycarp applied the ink to the page.
According to John
    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
    Polycarp looked up, trembling. “Master, it is as if I am in the presence of the Almighty. You are speaking with His authority.”
    “I too feel it, son.
    “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
    John sat on the bed, folding his arms and hanging his head as if exhausted. Finally he whispered, “I need tell of the baptizer. Bear with me as I ponder this, Polycarp.” He sat another moment, then lifted his head. “All right,” he said. “Thank you, Lord.
    “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through Him might believe.”
    “Pardon me, rabbi,” Polycarp said. “Just so I understand. ‘That all through John might believe’?”
    The old man nodded.
    “He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
    “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
    “Give me a moment, master,” Polycarp said. “This is overwhelming. I have never heard anything like it.”
    “Nor have I. Tell me when you are ready.”
    “Ready.”
    “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
    “John bore witness