CHAPTER 12

Buck checked into the Frankfurt Hilton at the airport under his phony name, knowing he had to call the States before his family and his colleagues heard he was dead. He started by finding a pay phone in the lobby and dialing his father’s number in Arizona. With the time difference, it was shortly after noon on Saturday there.

“I’m really sorry about this, Dad, but you’re going to hear I was killed in some sort of a car bombing, terrorist attack, that kind of thing.”

“What the devil is going on, Cameron?”

“I can’t get into it now, Dad. I just want you to know I’m all right. I’m calling from overseas, but I’d rather not say where. I’ll be back tomorrow, but I’m going to have to lay low for a while.”

“Your sister-in-law and niece and nephew’s memorial services are tomorrow evening,” Mr. Williams said.

“Oh, no. Dad, it would really be obvious if I showed up there. I’m sorry. Tell Jeff how really sorry I am.”

“Well, do we have to play this charade out? I mean should we make it a memorial for you, too?”

“No, I’m not going to be able to play dead that long. Once the people at the Global find out I’m all right, the secret won’t hold for long.”

“Are you going to be in danger when whoever thinks they killed you finds out?”

“Probably, but Dad, I’ve got to get off now. Tell Jeff for me, huh?”

“I will. Be careful.”

Buck switched to another phone and called the Global. Disguising his voice, he asked the receptionist to plug him into Steve Plank’s after-hours voice mail. “Steve, you know who this is. No matter what you hear in the next twenty-four hours, I’m all right. I will call you tomorrow and we can meet. Let the others believe what they hear for now. I’m going to need to remain incognito until I can find someone who can really help. Talk to you soon, Steve.”

Chloe was silent in the car. Rayford fought the urge to jabber. That was not his nature, but he felt the same urgency he had sensed in Bruce Barnes. He wanted to remain sensible, yes, analytical. He wanted to study, to pray, to be sure. But wasn’t that just insurance? Could he be more sure?

What had he done in his raising of Chloe that could make her so cautious, so careful, that she might look down her nose at what was so obvious to him? He had found the truth, and Bruce was right. They needed to act on it before anything happened to them.

The news was full of crime, looting, people taking advantage of the chaos. People were being shot, maimed, raped, killed. The roadways were more dangerous than ever. Emergency units were understaffed, fewer air and ground traffic controllers manned the airports, fewer qualified pilots and crews flew the planes.

People checked the graves of loved ones to see if their corpses had disappeared, and unscrupulous types pretended to do the same while looking for valuables that might have been buried with the wealthy. It had become an ugly world overnight, and Rayford was worried about his and Chloe’s safety. He didn’t want to go much longer without watching the DVD and making good on the decision he had already made.

“Can we watch it together?” he said.

“I’d really rather not, Dad. I can see where you’re going with this, and I’m not comfortable with it yet. This is very personal. It isn’t a group or family thing.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Well, don’t push me. You deal with it on your own, and I will later.”

“You know I’m just worried about you and that I love you and care about you, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Will you watch it before the church meeting tomorrow?”

“Daddy, please. You’re going to push me away if you keep bugging me about it. I’m not sure I even want to go to that. I heard his pitch today and he said himself it’s going to be the same thing tomorrow.”

“Well, what if I decide to become a Christian tomorrow? I’d kind of like you there.”

Chloe looked at him. “I don’t know, Dad. It’s not like graduation or something.”

“Maybe it is. I feel like your mother and your brother got promoted and I didn’t.”

“Gross.”

“I’m serious. They qualified for heaven. I didn’t.”

“I don’t want to talk about this now.”

“OK, but let me just say one more thing. If you don’t go tomorrow, I wish you’d watch the DVD while I’m gone.”

“Oh, I—”

“Because I’d really like to have you settle this thing before our flight Monday. Air travel is becoming more dangerous, and you never know what might happen.”

“Daddy, come on! All my life all I’ve heard you do is set people straight about how safe flying is. Every time there’s a crash, someone asks if you aren’t afraid or if you’ve ever had a close call, and you rattle off all these statistics about how flying is so many times safer than riding in a car. So don’t start with that.”

Rayford gave up. He would deal with his own soul and pray for his daughter, but clearly there would be no badgering her into the faith.

Chloe went to bed early Saturday night while Rayford settled in front of the television and popped in the DVD. “Hello,” came the pleasant voice of the pastor Rayford had met several times. As he spoke he sat on the edge of the desk in the very office Rayford had just visited. “My name is Vernon Billings, and I’m pastor of the New Hope Village Church of Mount Prospect, Illinois. As you watch this DVD, I can only imagine the fear and despair you face, for this is being recorded for viewing only after the disappearance of God’s people from the earth.

“That you are watching indicates you have been left behind. You are no doubt stunned, shocked, afraid, and remorseful. I would like you to consider what I have to say here as instructions for life following Christ’s rapture of his church. That is what has happened. Anyone you know or knew of who had placed his or her trust in Christ alone for salvation has been taken to heaven by Christ.

“Let me show you from the Bible exactly what has happened. You won’t need this proof by now, because you will have experienced the most shocking event of history. But as this recording was made beforehand and I am confident that I will be gone, ask yourself, how did he know? Here’s how, from 1 Corinthians 15:51-57.”

The screen began to scroll with the passage of Scripture. Rayford hit the pause button and ran to get Irene’s Bible. It took him a while to find 1 Corinthians, and though it was slightly different in her translation, the meaning was the same.

The pastor said, “Let me read to you what the great missionary evangelist, the apostle Paul, wrote to the Christians at the church in the city of Corinth:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rayford was confused. He could follow some of that, but the rest was like gibberish to him. He let the DVD run. Pastor Billings continued, “Let me paraphrase some of that so you’ll understand it clearly. When Paul says we shall not all sleep, he means that we shall not all die. And he’s saying that this corruptible being must put on an incorruptible body which is to last for all of eternity. When these things have happened, when the Christians who have already died and those that are still living receive their immortal bodies, the Rapture of the church will have taken place.

“Every person who believed in and accepted the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ anticipated his coming again for them. As you see this, all those will have already seen the fulfillment of the promise of Christ when he said, ‘I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.’

“I believe that all such people were literally taken from the earth, leaving everything material behind. If you have discovered that millions of people are missing and that babies and children have vanished, you know what I am saying is true. Up to a certain age, which is probably different for each individual, we believe God will not hold a child accountable for a decision that must be made with heart and mind, fully cognizant of the ramifications. You may also find that unborn children have disappeared from their mothers’ wombs. I can only imagine the pain and heartache of a world without precious children, and the deep despair of parents who will miss them so.

“Paul’s prophetic letter to the Corinthians said this would occur in the twinkling of an eye. You may have seen a loved one standing before you, and suddenly they were gone. I don’t envy you that shock.

“The Bible says that men’s hearts will fail them for fear. That means to me that there will be heart attacks due to shock, people will commit suicide in their despair, and you know better than I the chaos that will result from Christians disappearing from various modes of transportation, with the loss of firefighters and police officers and emergency workers of all sorts.

“Depending on when you’re viewing this, you may have already found that martial law is in effect in many places, emergency measures trying to keep evil elements from looting and fighting over the spoils of what is left. Governments will tumble and there will be international disorder.

“You may wonder why this has happened. Some believe this is the judgment of God on an ungodly world. Actually, that is to come later. Strange as this may sound to you, this is God’s final effort to get the attention of every person who has ignored or rejected him. He is allowing now a vast period of trial and tribulation to come to you who remain. He has removed his church from a corrupt world that seeks its own way, its own pleasures, its own ends.

“I believe God’s purpose in this is to allow those who remain to take stock of themselves and leave their frantic search for pleasure and self-fulfillment, and turn to the Bible for truth and to Christ for salvation.

“Let me encourage you that your loved ones, your children and infants, your friends, and your acquaintances have not been snatched away by some evil force or some invasion from outer space. That will likely be a common explanation. What sounded ludicrous to you before might sound logical now, but it is not.

“Also, Scripture indicates that there will be a great lie, announced with the help of the media and perpetrated by a self-styled world leader. Jesus himself prophesied about such a person. He said, ‘I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.’

“Let me warn you personally to beware of such a leader of humanity who may emerge from Europe. He will turn out to be a great deceiver who will step forward with signs and wonders that will be so impressive that many will believe he is of God. He will gain a great following among those who are left, and many will believe he is a miracle worker.

“The deceiver will promise strength and peace and security, but the Bible says he will speak out against the Most High and will wear down the saints of the Most High. That’s why I warn you to beware now of a new leader with great charisma trying to take over the world during this terrible time of chaos and confusion. This person is known in the Bible as Antichrist. He will make many promises, but he will not keep them. You must trust in the promises of God Almighty through his Son, Jesus Christ.

“I believe the Bible teaches that the Rapture of the church ushers in a seven-year period of trial and tribulation, during which terrible things will happen. If you have not received Christ as your Savior, your soul is in jeopardy. And because of the cataclysmic events that will take place during this period, your very life is in danger. If you turn to Christ, you may still have to die as a martyr.”

Rayford paused the DVD. He had been prepared for the salvation stuff. But tribulation and trial? Losing his loved ones, facing the pride and self-centeredness that had kept him out of heaven—wasn’t that enough? There would be more?

And what of this “great deceiver” the pastor had talked about? Maybe he had taken this prophecy business too far. But this was no snake-oil salesman. This was a sincere, honest, trustworthy man—a man of God. If what the pastor said about the disappearances was true—and Rayford knew in his heart that it was—then the man deserved his attention, his respect.

It was time to move beyond being a critic, an analyst never satisfied with the evidence. The proof was before him: the empty chairs, the lonely bed, the hole in his heart. There was only one course of action. He punched the play button.

“It doesn’t make any difference, at this point, why you’re still on earth. You may have been too selfish or prideful or busy, or perhaps you simply didn’t take the time to examine the claims of Christ for yourself. The point now is, you have another chance. Don’t miss it.

“The disappearance of the saints and children, the chaos left behind, and the despairing of the heartbroken are evidence that what I’m saying is true. Pray that God will help you. Receive his salvation gift right now. And resist the lies and efforts of the Antichrist, who is sure to rise up soon. Remember, he will deceive many. Don’t be counted among them.

“Nearly eight hundred years before Jesus came to earth the first time, Isaiah in the Old Testament prophesied that the kingdoms of nations will be in great conflict and their faces shall be as flames. To me, this portends World War III, a thermonuclear war that will wipe out millions.

“Bible prophecy is history written in advance. I urge you to find books on this subject or find people who may have been experts in this area but who for some reason did not receive Christ before and were left behind. Study so you’ll know what is coming and you can be prepared.

“You’ll find that government and religion will change, war and inflation will erupt, there will be widespread death and destruction, martyrdom of saints, and even a devastating earthquake. Be prepared.

“God wants to forgive you your sins and assure you of heaven. Listen to Ezekiel 33:11: ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.’

“If you accept God’s message of salvation, his Holy Spirit will come in unto you and make you spiritually born anew. You don’t need to understand all this theologically. You can become a child of God by praying to him right now as I lead you—”

Rayford paused the DVD again and saw the concern on the pastor’s face, the compassion in his eyes. He knew friends and acquaintances would think him crazy, perhaps even his own daughter would. But this rang true with him. Rayford didn’t understand about the seven years of tribulation and this new leader, the liar who was supposed to emerge. But he knew he needed Christ in his life. He needed forgiveness of sin and the assurance that one day he would join his wife and son in heaven.

Rayford sat with his head in his hands, his heart pounding. There was no sound from upstairs where Chloe rested. He was alone with his thoughts, alone with God, and he felt God’s presence. Rayford slid to his knees on the carpet. He had never knelt in worship before, but he sensed the seriousness and the reverence of the moment. He pushed the play button and tossed the remote control aside. He set his hands palms down before him and rested his forehead on them, his face on the floor. The pastor said, “Pray after me,” and Rayford did. “Dear God, I admit that I’m a sinner. I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me and save me. I ask this in the name of Jesus, who died for me. I trust in him right now. I believe that the sinless blood of Jesus is sufficient to pay the price for my salvation. Thank you for hearing me and receiving me. Thank you for saving my soul.”

As the pastor continued with words of assurance, quoting verses that promised that whoever called upon the name of the Lord would be saved and that God would not cast out anyone who sought him, Rayford stayed where he was. As the DVD finished, the pastor said, “If you were genuine, you are saved, born again, a child of God.” Rayford wanted to talk to God more. He wanted to be specific about his sin. He knew he was forgiven, but in a childlike way, he wanted God to know that he knew what kind of a person he had been.

He confessed his pride. Pride in his intelligence. Pride in his looks. Pride in his abilities. He confessed his lusts, how he had neglected his wife, how he had sought his own pleasure. How he had worshiped money and things. When he was through, he felt clean. The recording had scared him, all that talk about the tough times ahead, but he knew he would rather face them as a true believer than in the state he had been.

His first prayer following that was for Chloe. He would worry about her and pray for her constantly until he was sure she had joined him in this new life.

Buck arrived at JFK and immediately called Steve Plank. “Stay right where you are, Buck, you renegade. Do you know who wants to talk with you?”

“I couldn’t guess.”

“Nicolae Carpathia himself.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I’m serious. He’s here and he’s got your old friend Chaim Rosenzweig with him. Apparently Chaim sang your praises, and with all the media after him, he’s asking for you. So I’ll come get you, you’ll tell me what in the world you’ve gotten yourself into, we’ll get you undead, and you can have that great interview you’ve been looking for.”

Buck hung up and clapped. This is too good to be true, he thought. If there’s one guy who’s above these international terrorists and bullies and even the dirt at the London Exchange and Scotland Yard, it will be this Carpathia. If Rosenzweig likes him, he’s got to be all right.

Rayford couldn’t wait to go to New Hope the next morning. He began reading the New Testament, and he scrounged around the house for any books or study guides Irene had collected. Though much of it was still difficult to understand, he found himself so hungry and thirsty for the story of the life of Christ that he read through all four Gospels until it was late and he fell asleep.

All Rayford could think of throughout the reading was that he was now part of this family that included his wife and son. Though he was scared of what the pastor had predicted on the DVD about all the bad things that would happen in the world now that the church had been raptured, he was also excited about his new faith. He knew he would one day be with God and Christ, and he wanted that for Chloe more than ever.

Rayford kept himself from bugging her. He determined not to tell her what he had done unless she asked. She didn’t ask before he left for church in the morning, but she apologized for not going with him. “I will go with you sometime,” she said. “I promise. I’m not being antagonistic. I’m just not ready.”

Rayford fought the urge to warn her not to wait too long. He also wanted to plead with her to watch the DVD, but she knew he had watched it and she asked him nothing about it. He had left it in the machine, hoping and praying she would watch it while he was gone.

Rayford got to the church just before ten o’clock and was shocked to have to park nearly three blocks away. The place was packed. Few were carrying Bibles, and hardly anyone was dressed up. These were scared, desperate people who filled every pew, including in the balcony. Rayford wound up standing in the back with nowhere to sit.

Right at ten o’clock, Bruce began, but he asked Loretta to stand by the door and make sure any latecomers were welcomed. Despite the crowd, he did not use the platform spotlights, nor did he stand in the pulpit. He had placed a single microphone stand in front of the first pew, and he simply talked to the people.

Bruce introduced himself and said, “I’m not in the pulpit because that is a place for people who are trained and called to it. I am in a place of leadership and teaching today by default. Normally we at this church would be thrilled to see a crowd like this,” he said. “But I’m not about to tell you how great it is to see you here. I know you’re here seeking to know what happened to your children and loved ones, and I believe I have the answer. Obviously, I didn’t have it before, or I too would be gone. We’ll not be singing or making any announcements, except to tell you we have a Bible study scheduled for Wednesday night at seven. We will not be taking any offering, though we will have to start doing that next week to meet our expenses. The church has some money in the bank, but we do have a mortgage and I have living expenses.”

Bruce then told the same story he had told Rayford and Chloe the day before, and his voice was the only sound in the place. Many wept. He showed the DVD, and more than a hundred people prayed along with the pastor at the end. Bruce urged them to begin coming to New Hope.

He added, “I know many of you may still be skeptical. You may believe what happened was of God, but you still don’t like it and you resent him for it. If you would like to come back and vent and ask questions this evening, I will be here. But I choose not to offer that opportunity this morning because so many here are brand-new in their faith and I don’t want to confuse the issue. Rest assured we will be open to any honest question.

“I do want to open the floor to anyone who received Christ this morning and would like to confess it before us. The Bible tells us to do that, to make known our decision and our stand. Feel free to come to the microphone.”

Rayford was the first to move, but as he came down the aisle he sensed many falling in behind him. Dozens waited to tell their stories, to say where they’d been on their spiritual journey. Most were just like he was, having been on the edges of the truth through a loved one or friend, but never fully accepting the truth about Christ.

Their stories were moving and hardly anyone left, even when the clock swept past noon and forty or fifty more still stood in line. All seemed to need to tell of the ones who had left them. At two o’clock, when everyone was hungry and tired, Bruce said, “I’m going to have to bring this to a close. One thing I wasn’t going to do today was anything traditionally churchy, including singing. But I feel we need to praise the Lord for what has happened here today. Let me teach you a simple chorus of adoration.”

Bruce sang a brief song from Scripture, honoring God the Father, Jesus his Son, and the Holy Spirit. When the people joined in, quietly and reverently and heartfelt, Rayford was too choked up to sing. One by one people stopped singing and mouthed the words or hummed, they were so overcome. Rayford believed it was the most moving moment of his life. How he longed to share it with Irene and Raymie and Chloe.

People seemed reluctant to leave, even after Bruce closed in prayer. Many stayed to get acquainted, and it became obvious a new congregation had begun. The name of the church was more appropriate than ever. New Hope. Bruce shook hands with people as they left, and no one ducked him or hurried past. When Rayford shook his hand, Bruce asked, “Are you busy this afternoon? Would you be able to join me for a bite?”

“I’d want to call my daughter first, but sure.”

Rayford let Chloe know where he’d be. She didn’t ask about the church meeting, except to say, “It went long, huh? Lot of people there?” And he simply told her yes on both counts. He was committed to not saying more unless she asked. He hoped and prayed her curiosity would get the best of her, and if he then could do justice to what had happened that day, maybe she would wish she’d been in on it. At the very least, she would have to recognize how it had affected him.

At a small restaurant in nearby Arlington Heights, Bruce looked exhausted but happy. He told Rayford he felt such a mix of emotions he hardly knew what to make of them. “My grief over the loss of my family is still so raw I can hardly function. I still feel shame over my phoniness. And yet since I repented of my sins and truly received Christ, in just a few days he has blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined. My house is lonely and cold and carries painful memories. And yet look what happened today. I’ve been given this new flock to shepherd, a reason for living.”

Rayford merely nodded. He sensed Bruce simply needed someone to talk to.

“Ray,” Bruce said, “churches are usually built by seminary-trained pastors and elders who have been Christians most of their lives. We don’t have that luxury. I don’t know what kind of leadership model we’re going to have. It doesn’t make sense to have elders when the interim pastor, which is all I can call myself, is himself a brand-new Christian and so is everybody else. But we’re going to need a core of people who care about each other and are committed to the body. Loretta and a few of the people I met with the night of the Rapture are already part of that team, along with a couple of older men who were in the church for years but somehow missed the point as well.

“I know this is very new to you, but I feel as if I should ask you to join our little core group. We will be at the church for the Sunday morning meeting, the occasional Sunday evening meeting, the Wednesday night Bible study, and we will meet at my home one other evening every week. That’s where we will pray for each other, keep each other accountable, and study a little deeper to stay ahead of the new congregation. Are you willing?”

Rayford sat back. “Wow,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m so new at this.”

“We all are.”

“Yeah, but you were raised in it, Bruce. You know this stuff.”

“I only missed the most important point.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what appeals to me about it. I’m hungry for knowledge of the Bible. And I need a friend.”

“So do I,” Bruce said. “That’s the risk. We could wind up grating on each other.”

“I’m willing to take the risk if you are,” Rayford said. “As long as I’m not expected to take any leadership role.”

“Deal,” Barnes said, thrusting out his hand. Rayford shook it. Neither smiled. Rayford had the feeling this was the beginning of a relationship born of tragedy and need. He just hoped it worked out. When Rayford finally arrived home, Chloe was eager to hear all about it. She was amazed at what her father told her and said she was embarrassed to say she had not watched the DVD yet. “But I will now, Dad, before we go to Atlanta. You’re really into this, aren’t you? It sounds like something I want to check out, even if I don’t do anything about it.”

Rayford had been home about twenty minutes and had changed into his pajamas and robe to relax for the rest of the evening when Chloe called out to him. “Dad, almost forgot. A Hattie Durham called for you several times. She sounded pretty agitated. Said she works with you.”

“Yeah,” Rayford said. “She wanted to be assigned to my next flight and I ducked her. She probably found out and wants to know why.”

“Why did you duck her?”

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you sometime.”

Rayford was reaching for the phone when it rang. It was Bruce. “I forgot to confirm,” he said. “If you’ve agreed to be part of the core team, the first responsibility is tonight’s meeting with the disenchanted and the skeptics.”

“You are going to be a tough taskmaster, aren’t you?”

“I’ll understand if you weren’t planning on it.”

“Bruce,” Rayford said, “except for heaven, there’s no place I’d rather be. I wouldn’t miss it. I might even be able to get Chloe to come to this one.”

“What one?” Chloe asked when he hung up.

“In a minute,” he said. “Let me call Hattie and calm the waters.”

Rayford was surprised that Hattie said nothing about their flight assignments. “I just got some disconcerting news,” she said. “You remember that writer from Global Weekly who was on our flight, the one who had his computer hooked up to the in-flight sat phone?”

“Vaguely.”

“His name was Cameron Williams, and I talked to him by phone a couple of times since the flight. I tried calling him from the airport in New York last night but couldn’t get through.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I just heard on the news that he was killed in England in a car bombing.”

“You’re kidding!”

“I’m not. Isn’t that too bizarre? Rayford, sometimes I don’t know how much of this I can take. I hardly knew this guy, but I was so shocked I just broke down when I heard. I’m sorry to bother you with it, but I thought you might remember him.”

“No, that’s all right, Hattie. And I know how overwhelming this is for you because it has been for me, too. I’ve got a lot to talk to you about, actually.”

“You do?”

“Could we get together sometime soon?”

“I’ve put in to work one of your flights,” she said. “Maybe if that works out.”

“Maybe,” he said. “And if it doesn’t, maybe you could come over for dinner with Chloe and me.”

“I’d like that, Rayford. I really would.”