Lester Stark

Lester Stark
Fictional Character
Alpha and Omega Set in the Future of OTL
Type of Appearance:	Direct (POV)
Nationality:	United States
Religion:	Evangelicalism
Date of Birth:	Mid-20th century
Occupation:	Televangelist, Megachurch pastor
Spouse:	Rhonda Stark
Children:	Four
Professional Affiliations:	The Lester Stark Hour

Reverend Lester Stark was the pastor of a 6,000 person church in Birmingham, Alabama. He also had a weekly television show, The Lester Stark Hour, which broadcast a church service each week. He dressed well and lived well, but most of the donations he received went into the church and good works such as helping the poor and fighting what he saw as injustices.

Stark had been preaching on TV for 25 years. In that time many women and a few men had thrown themselves at him, but he remained faithful to his wife Rhonda. While most of his congregation were white, there were some black too. He agreed with Martin Luther King Jr. that the color of the heart was more important than the color of their skin. Anyone in his organization who felt this was wrong were soon gone.

Stark was convinced that the End Times were near. He preached that Israel being reconstituted in 1948 and taking the Temple Mount in 1967 were signs of this. So was the career of Saddam Hussein, the Nebuchadnezzar of the modern world. The latest sign was the recent discovery of a red heifer, only the tenth in history. These were all necessary steps in the construction of the Third Temple and then the Second Coming.

Stark returned to this theme after the dirty bomb attack in Tel Aviv. He used Revelation 6, v. 2-10 to argue the four Horsemen represented Israel's victory in 1967, Muslim terrorists, the deadlock in the Middle East, and the horrors visited on Tel Aviv, respectively. He then pointed out that verses 9 and 10 called for vengeance which he believed would come soon. This, along with the Book of Daniel chapter 5, indicated to the Reverend a much bigger battle leading to the End Times.