Stuff of Earth, Things of Heaven

Daniel Call was a man who had it all. Born to newly converted Christians, his father was a full professor in physics and an early creator of software that changed the computer world and made the family billionaires. Daniel himself was a genius that spoke several languages at an early age. But Daniel had a secret. At age four, he was visited by the angel Gabriel who told him he would be a man that would change the world. At age twelve, he was again visited by Gabriel and performed his first miracle, one witnessed by a reporter from a major newspaper, a miracle that for a brief time made headlines. Due to the work of the family lawyer, Daniel was able to settle back into obscurity until the age of eighteen when his parents were tragically killed in a plane crash. Orphaned, he was introduced as the world's most eligible bachelor by People Magazine. Worth nearly two billion dollars, he was tall, handsome, and a noted genius. For several months his face dominated tabloid journalism. He then stunned the world by giving most of his money away to charity and taking vows of abstinence and chastity. Daniel, however, had never forgotten the early visits from Gabriel and was determined to prepare himself for whatever lay ahead. He moved quietly to Boone, North Carolina, where he attended classes at Appalachian State and Wake Forest Universities. Suddenly, three years later, Gabriel reappeared and the miracles began that would shake the world. Many of these miracles were captured on live television and fed the mid 1990's newly founded cable news networks and fueled a fresh avalanche of tabloid and hard printed news. Daniel led a walking crusade that covered thousands of miles where he was followed by tens of thousands of people. He had an inner core of followers that began to be called his disciples. Meanwhile the forces of evil conspired with many in the established faiths to discredit and destroy Daniel. As these forces gained strength, Daniel began to change his ministry, spending more time alone as he prepared for the end and sending out disciples to do their own miracles and teaching. God's power was soon revealed in a way that left few doubters, a stunning last miracle that showed the power of God, and His judgment and infinite mercy. Daniel's final legacy would not be in the miracles, but in the changes that a life lived in denial of self would cause.