Future Tense (1990) Movie Script

(slow music)

- [Man] "Know this, first of all.

"That in the last days, mockers will come

"with their mocking.

"Following after their own lusts and saying,

"'Where is the promise of his coming?'

"But do not let this one fact escape your notice.

"That with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,

"and a thousand years is one day.

"The Lord is not slow about his promise,

"as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,

"not wishing for any to perish,

"but for all to come to repentance.

"But the day of the Lord will come,

"like a thief in the night,

"in which the Heavens will pass away with a roar,

"and the Earth and its works will be burned up.

"But according to his promise,

"we are looking for new Heavens, and the new Earth,

"in which righteousness dwells."

(slow music)

(upbeat pop music)

(people talking)

(upbeat pop music)

Hey man.

- [Man] Hey.

- How's the project going?

- Oh, just fine.

- Alright, stay with it.

(people talking)

How's it goin'?

- [Woman] Just fine.

- I have Audio 115 booked 'til 10 'o clock.

- Okay let's see, Michael Cummings.

There it is, I just need your number.

- 789-5431.

- That's not an ID number.

- I thought you wanted my phone number.

- Yeah, right.

- How about 3751?

- Okay, that'll do.

- Thanks a lot.

Hey, will you watch my bike?

- I'll be here.

- Appreciate it.

"Dear mom, dad, Callie, and Cody,

"I hope you're all doing well.

"I'm sorry for what happened the last time I was home.

"I never intended to get into an argument.

"It's just that I want so much to share with you

"what has happened in my life.

"I don't know why it's so difficult

"to talk to your own family about God.

"It's as if there's one room in the house

"that no one is supposed to go into.

"And if you accidentally wander into that room,

"and someone else just happens to follow you in,

"then you're both obligated by some unwritten rule

"to back out as quietly and quickly as possible.

"I don't wanna argue, but I can't back out of that room.

"I love you too much.

"That's why I'm sending this tape.

"This way, you can listen to what I need to say

"without feeling uneasy about being in that room with me.

"Or you can turn me off.

"Either way, I want you to know that I love you,

"and that's why I'm doing this.

"Love always,

"Michael."

- [Cody] What's that, mom?

- It's a tape from Michael.

- Is Michael in a band?

(chuckling) - No, honey.

It's not a music tape, it's a talking tape.

- What is he talking about?

- [Woman] I don't know yet.

I'm going to listen to it when I go

pick Callie up at the mall.

- Can I go?

- It's may I go, and no you may not,

because you're going to go over to Adam's

and play for a while, so you better get goin',

you little Cookie Monster.

- Testing, one, two, three.

Hello?

Testing one, two, three.

Hello, mom, dad,

Callie, Cody.

Thank you for taking the time to listen to this tape.

The idea of doing this came to me last Wednesday night.

I was with some friends and we were

talking about the future.

Actually, we were talking about what

the Bible has to say about the future.

As we talked, it hit me. (siren blaring)

That if I really believed the Bible,

and if I really believed that what we were

talking about could happen at any moment,

I had to say something to the people I'm closest to.

According to the Bible, there will be a day

when Jesus Christ comes again to gather from the Earth

all the people who truly believe in him.

Now, there are different opinions among Christians

on the exact order or the events surrounding his return.

But one thing is certain:

he is coming back.

There are over 300 passages in the Bible

that deal with the return of Jesus Christ.

Many of these passages indicate that he could come

at any moment.

(slow, tense music)

- [News Reporter] At approximately 5:37 am,

central standard time, an event of catastrophic

proportions occurred as millions of people

have apparently disappeared from the face of the Earth.

I repeat, the federal government has declared

a state of national emergency.

We go now to Bob Lawson, live from our

eyewitness helicopter.

- [Bob] Steve, I have never seen anything like this.

It looks like a war zone from up here.

We are currently approaching

the down town area, and if I look...

(slow, tense music)

- I'm coming, I'm coming.

I'm coming.

(slow, tense music)

Cody!

Cody?

Cody!

(crying)

Cody's gone.

Cody's disappeared.

He--

- Calm down now, Susan.

Calm down.

- I just heard on the radio that millions

of people have disappeared--

- Susan, calm down.

- The whole country's under a national emergency, Jim.

Jim, this is what Michael is telling us.

It's really happening.

(crying)

- [Michael] But when it does come,

(knocking) it will happen suddenly,

and without warning.

- Are you okay?

- Oh sure, I was just listening to a tape.

- Oh.

Well it looked like you were really into it.

- Did you girls have a good time?

- Do you want jelly or honey?

- [Cody] Honey.

- Here you go.

- Thank you.

- We got a tape from Michael today.

- A tape?

Of what?

- He was talking about the end of the world.

- What's the end of the world?

- Look, Cody, there is no such thing

as the end of the world.

- But how can we know that?

- Well, Callie, for as long as I can remember,

there have been people coming along

every once in a while who predict that the world's

about to end.

They get everybody all upset, nothing happens,

and everybody forgets about it.

And it's happened that way for a thousand years.

And look, the world is still here.

- Imagine, millions of people disappearing instantly

from every part of the Earth.

People from every walk of life.

The results would be disastrous.

Planes would fall from the sky as pilots disappeared.

Governments would be crippled when leaders

could not be found.

People would search desperately for their loved ones.

The police could not even begin to deal with the problem.

You would think that something like this

would convince people that what the Bible

has to say about the future is true.

But the Bible predicts that there

will be other explanations.

And that rather than turning to God for answers,

most people will turn to other people,

choosing to believe what is false.

- For those of you who have just joined us,

we are reviewing the events of the past 14 hours.

We are speaking live via satellite with Robert Slauser,

political correspondent for the Washington Tribune.

Judith Ferguson, religious editor

for the Los Angeles Examiner.

Louis Powell, religious editor for the Dallas Post.

And Dr. Russel Ramji, professor of psychology

at Northeastern University.

Miss Ferguson, while many are panicking,

you see what has happened today as a

potentially positive development.

- What has happened here today is not unprecedented.

Some have proposed that the evolution of human life

is a design of a higher force,

and at certain points in the evolutionary process,

human life has been guided through quantum leaps

in its development.

As we study these leaps in the evolutionary process,

we find that they are always preceded

by a sort of selective elimination.

I believe this is what we have experienced today,

and that we are literally on the very threshold

of a new age in the evolution of human life.

- And what is your position, Mr. Powell?

- I believe that what we have seen today

is the return of Jesus Christ for his church.

And that according to the Bible, those of us

who have been left behind are about to experience

a time of tribulation,

such as a world has never known.

- Miss Ferguson, apparently you do not agree.

Would you like to respond?

- Well perhaps Mr. Powell is not aware that the

International Council of Churches is already

polling its membership and has discovered

that a significant number of those belonging

to the Christian churches are still with us.

- Mr. Powell?

- When I speak of his church, I don't mean

those who have their name on the membership

roll of a church.

I'm speaking of those who have truly

placed their faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation.

- Louis, if that is really what you think

then why are you still here?

- Excuse me, Mr. Powell, before you answer that,

we need to pause for a station identification.

We'll be right back.

- [Man] Atcole Raceway and Vin Pillar

Performance Centers, are starting a war.

A war on wheels.

Wednesday night, June 21st, eight pm,

Atcole kicks off the summer ever

with seven tests, including Aggy Hendrix,

the world's fastest woman...

(slow, tense music)

- Cody.

- Mr. Powell, before the break,

you gave us your opinion that the millions of people

that have disappeared today are true Christians.

If that is so, then Miss Ferguson has put forth

a very fair question in asking why you are still with us.

- As a child, I was taught the Biblical position

that I have explained to you.

Unfortunately, I rejected most of what I had been taught,

until today.

- And so as of today you've changed your position?

- Yes I have.

- Out of curiosity, Mr. Powell,

where does that leave you now?

- As I have stated,

I believe that we are about to enter a time

of suffering and turmoil such as the world has never known.

Many Christians believe that this will last for seven years.

At the end of this time, Jesus Christ will return

with his church to rule and to judge the world.

Those who have remained faithful to Christ will be saved.

And those who have rejected Christ

will be judged accordingly.

To answer your question, I am terrified

at what I know I will go through during

the next seven years.

But with everything that is in me,

I intend to persevere, and remain faithful to Christ.

- Dr. Ramji, we haven't heard from you.

- Miss Anderson, I believe it is very irresponsible

of Mr. Powell to express such a fatalistic opinion

considering what we have experienced today.

(phone ringing)

It is not inconceivable that a large--

- Hello?

- [Man] Is Susan Cummings in, please?

- Yes she is.

Who's calling?

- [Man] This is Bill Scriber with Golden Oaks.

- Jim, I've got it.

- [Bill] Mrs. Cummings, this is Bill Scriber

with Golden Oaks.

- Yes.

- [Bill] I'm calling about your parents.

(slow, tense music)

Mrs. Cummings, we've confirmed that your mother

and your father were among 19 residents

who disappeared this morning.

I'm sorry Mrs. Cummings.

- Yes.

- [Bill] Miss Cummings, this day has been difficult

for all of us.

- Mhm.

- [Bill] If it's alright with you, what I've suggested

to other relatives of those who are missing

is that I get back with you in a few days

with some more detail.

- Yes.

Thank you.

- [Bill] Thank you Mrs. Cummings.

I'll call you in a few days.

Bye now.

- Thank you.

(crying)

- Susan.

Something's happened here and we just don't understand.

But it's happened to just lots of people.

And for all we know, Susan,

Cody and Michael and your parents could come

back just as quickly as they disappeared.

And there is an explanation for this.

And until we know what it is,

we can't lose it all.

(crying)

(kissing) - Good night, dad.

See you in the morning.

- Good night, Callie.

- Oh good night, sweetheart.

Mmm, sweet dreams.

- [Callie] Love you.

- I love you, too.

Well, what did you think about the tape?

- I still think the best thing to do is just back off.

He's going through a time of self discovery

and exploring new ideas and if we try to tell him

how to think, he'll just move farther away.

We saw that the last time he was in.

I think if we just let it alone, it will pass.

(slow, ethereal music)

- I realize that what I've said

on this tape may sound incredible.

But it all comes down to this.

Jesus promised that one day he would come back,

for all those who truly believed and trusted in him.

But you can't wait until that day comes

to decide what you believe.

Because when it comes, there won't be time

to make a decision.

Mom,

dad,

Callie and Cody.

I'm not trying to make you angry.

I only wanna see you there.

The other night, I had a dream.

We were all in a huge airport.

We were waiting for a plane.

But this was no ordinary plane.

This plane was bound for Heaven.

Dad, you were on the phone taking care of business.

Mom, you were reading a magazine.

Callie, you were listening to your Walkman

and writing a letter.

And Cody was coloring.

I was reading the schedule for arriving

and departing flights, and suddenly I noticed

that our flight was already boarding.

Dad, you insisted that we had plenty of time

and that you didn't wanna be interrupted.

Mom, you insisted that dad was aware of the situation

and that we weren't about to leave without him.

I began to think that maybe I did make a mistake,

so I ran back to check the monitor.

I was right.

Suddenly I had the sense of a presence over my shoulder.

I looked up and saw grandma and grandpa.

They were looking straight at me

and they were waving for me to come.

I knew that I didn't have a moment to lose,

but I also knew that if I left, I'd never see you again.

I turned back to look at grandma and grandpa.

They were gone.

Suddenly it hit me.

Each of us has to choose to go.

We can't choose for someone else.

And we can't make someone else choose.

I turned to run toward the gate.

As I approached airport security,

I thought about leaving my bag behind to save time

and then I thought, no.

I'll use these few seconds to take

one last look at my family.

You didn't even know I was gone.

And then I saw Cody, and he was lookin' around,

and I knew he was looking for me.

And I motioned with all my heart for him to come,

and he ran toward me and then he hesitated.

And he looked back as though to think about

what he was really doing.

(slow, ethereal music)

The next part of my dream is painful.

But not nearly so painful

as the way it will really be.

I saw each of you approach the window

inside the gate area.

(intense orchestral music)

But it was too late.

It was too late.

(plane engine starting) (intense orchestral music)

- [Cody] What's the end of the world?

- [Jim] Cody, there's no such thing

as the end of the world.

- [Callie] (echoing) How can we know that?

(upbeat music)

♪ I need to say these things 'cause

♪ I love you so

♪ And I'm sorry you get angry

♪ When I say that you just don't know

♪ The bears have been waiting

♪ For you and me

♪ I know it seems every time we talk

♪ I'm only trying to just make you see

♪ And it's only that I care

♪ I really only want just to see you there

♪ Please try and overlook my

♪ My human side

♪ I know I'm such a bad example

♪ And you know I'm so full of pride

♪ But Jesus isn't like that

♪ No, he's perfect all the way

♪ I guess that's why we need him

♪ 'Cause by ourselves, there's just no way

♪ And it's only that I care

♪ I really, really only just want to see you there

♪ To see you there

♪ Close the doors

♪ They're just not coming

♪ We sent the invitations out

♪ A long, long, long, long time ago

♪ We're still gonna have a wedding feast

♪ Big enough to beat them all

♪ The greatest people in the world just wouldn't come

♪ So now we'll just have to invite the small

♪ And it's only that I care

♪ I really, really only want just to see you there

♪ Isn't that Jesus

♪ Isn't it Joseph and Mary's son

♪ But didn't he grow up right here

♪ He played with our children

♪ What

♪ He must be kidding

♪ Thinks he's a prophet

♪ Well prophets don't grow up from little boys

♪ Do they

♪ From little boys

♪ Do they

(upbeat music)

Future Tense (1990) - full transcript