NEW RIDE ANNOUNCED
The working
party of Armageddon Alive are pleased to announce the finalisation
of the plans for the SEVEN SEALS ride.
The ride will be constructed on the eastern side of the complex,
adjacent to the Alpha & Omega restaurant and opposite the Seven
Letters Souvenir Shop.
Visitors will be seated merry-go-round horses which, instead of
providing the standard circular ride, are attached to a moving chain
that will carry them into a tunnel and through a sequence of
apocalyptic experiences.
In the seven seals of Revelation, John was shown an
outline of events which would
characterize the successive stages of the Church's era. As the ride
progresses, visitors will move through this stream of
time.
THE FIRST SEAL
As the first seal is opened
a white horse appears and canters alongside the viewers for the
space of thirty seconds.
This symbolises of the advance of the gospel in the first century. Through
the missionary zeal of the early church the gospel was preached to every
creature which is under heaven. The white horse indicates the
church in its original purity. The crown, or victory wreath, shows its conquest
over the power of the enemy.
THE SECOND SEAL
The second seal reveals a red horse which rears
violently in front of the ride before rising into the darkness above with a
terrifying neigh. Red liquid is sprayed across the ride, this "blood"
symbolising the removal of peace from the earth. To the left, animatronic
figures are decapitated with a massive two-edged sword, a reminder that from the beginning of the second century until Constantine’s edict
of A.D. 313, church-going was illegal throughout the Roman empire, and
believers were terribly persecuted.
THE THIRD SEAL
As the ride progresses, a black
horse now canters alongside the viewers, symbolising that in the 200
years following A.D. 313, the church had lost its original purity. Its
pale rider holds a pair of balances. A recorded voice cries out that the amount of
money which previously was equivalent to a full day’s wage is
now only worth a quart of wheat. A subliminal message to give generously to the
funds of the Park at the end of the ride is flashed above the
carnival steeds.
THE FOURTH SEAL
Now as the fourth seal is opened, a
pale horse appears floating above the ride. Seated on the
saddle is an animatronic skeleton, its claw-like fingers reaching
out for the people. Here is a church that is lifeless and pale,
and to either side of the ride, coffins rise up out of the earth,
their lids fly off and decomposing bodies tumble out. Here is Death,
with the Grave close behind. This represents the period of the Dark
Ages during which the spark of true godliness was almost entirely extinguished.
(This part of the ride is sponsored by the Prayer Book Union)
THE FIFTH SEAL
When the fifth seal is opened the
pale horse disappears. Screens on either side light up to show images of
countless faces, their eyes uplifted, their sallow skin signifying that they
represent t he cumulative deaths of millions of God’s people through
centuries of oppression.
The first five seals have brought us down to the mid 1700’s.
The last part of the ride takes us through the signs of the end which appear under
the opening of the sixth seal.
THE SIXTH SEAL
For the sixth seal the ride enters the four signs of the End Times,
earthquake, a dark sun, a blood-red moon and the collapse of the heavens.
This part of the ride lasts for seven minutes. Initially the ride moves through
the interior of a church, choral music playing in the background. Suddenly
the ground rocks violently and the walls and columns on either side collapse in
clouds of dust, flames rising from the rubble. (Breathing apparatus
will be available on all the horses).
Then the light begins to dim until all is darkness, and above the ride an
image of the moon appears, slowly turning red. Bathed in this unearthly
glow the ride progresses slowly through the chaos when, without warning, streaks
of light flash downwards from the ceiling. The sky is lit with the trails
of thousands of meteors. Blasts of hot air fire upon the ride, great
fans create a howling gale, and measured amounts of ash are released over
everyone.
THE SEVENTH SEAL
Suddenly all falls still, and the
ride moves towards a large angelic figure as a taped voice reads
verses from the 7th chapter of revelation: "Do not harm the earth or
the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God
upon their foreheads." As the ride reaches the exit doors
laser-guided jets spray a red mark neatly on the forehead of each
visitor.
A dry-cleaning service will be
located at the end of the ride offering reasonable rates.
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