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After several days of anticipation for the supposed second appearance of Jesus Christ in the land proclaimed by a religious sect settled in a rural town in northern Colombia, Its nearly three thousand inhabitants waited for “the end of the world.”
Humble houses arranged in a disorderly way on unpaved streets where sewage flows open to the sky due to the lack of sewage service; Isabel López is a rural town in the Caribbean department of Atlántico, where Parishioners of the Berean Evangelical Congregation announced that today was the day of “final judgment.”
In addition to generating a natural incredulity in its inhabitants, the supposed biblical message of a religious pastor from the city of Barranquilla to congregate in a precarious building in the town to Waiting for the second coming of Christ today became the topic of conversation, and even ridicule.
The news, which two weeks ago spread throughout the town, was known by the authorities of the municipality of Sabanalarga, to which the Isabel López farmhouse belongs, who immediately appeared at the place, even with the intervention of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, which took the seven minors who were inside the temple.
MEMBERS OF THE SAME FAMILY
One of the characteristics of the parishioners gathered in the Berea church is that they are part of the same family groups because If they do not share their faith, they are pressured into having their relatives leave their mother’s home.
“I have two aunts and a nephew in that church, in addition to my wife, whom recently excluded because they were told it was contaminated because my son did not profess his faith“Johnny Angulo told Efe when he narrated the concern in the town for what the members of the congregation can do.
Angulo expressed concern about the decision made by several of his relatives to sell their belongings because, according to them, they would no longer need them and He noted that throughout the town they fear that a misfortune could occur among the members of the Berean Church.
The personero of the municipality of Sabanalarga, Luis Fernando Moreno, who has been accompanying since the moment the case became known, affirmed that, while respecting religious beliefs, the authorities must guarantee the safety of the people who are part of the religious congregation.
“They, in general terms, are well and it is our duty as representative of the public ministry guarantee your rights“, Moreno noted when explaining that medical attention was taken to some people who required it.
In Colombia, the personeros are the public officials who are responsible for safeguarding and promoting human rights, among other matters.
VIGIL IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH
Since the day before, a large group of people took up positions in front of the house that serves as a temple to the Berea evangelical congregation, whose members had been fasting for more than two weeks to “cleanse themselves” and that in the “new arrival of the Messiah” they were free from sins.
The Police, officials from the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF, which takes care of children), and a large number of neighbors and curious people crowded into the narrow alley under an inclement sun awaiting the outcome of a story that began late last year.
Pastor Gabriel Alberto Ferrer Ruíz, professor of linguistics at the Universidad del Atlántico, presented his resignation letter to the rectory of the institution in which he said he had “a direct order that the Lord Almighty gave me”. From there he dedicated himself to preparing the parishioners for what should happen today.
AT THE PASTOR’S RESIDENCE
While in Isabel López its inhabitants waited for something to happen that did not happen, in Barranquilla, the Ferrer residence came the Police, the ICBF, and the Attorney’s Office to verify the presence of other people gathered to receive the “second arrival of Jesus Christ.”
The Operational Commander of the Northern District Police, Colonel Alex Suárez, said that after the inspection to the property it was determined that there are eight people of which two are minors.
“The people who are inside the property are voluntarily and of their own accord. No one is being held by force and they are all in perfect physical and health condition “, said the officer.
At the end of the day Pastor Ferrer published a video in which he denied that the imembers of your community are going to commit collective suicide.
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