CHAPTER 10
Leah Rose had thought she was past impressing. She had been with Rayford, after all, when the judgment of 200 million demonic horsemen had invaded the earth and wiped out a third of the remaining population. And she had seen and endured, firsthand, all the judgments that followed.
Leah and Hannah Palemoon, the younger nurse who had become such a close friend, were the first to run from the infirmary when word came that the sign of the Son of Man had appeared. It was not the first time they had ventured out that evening. They had also seen the lightning show.
They had been discussing their collective guilt over leaving Lionel Whalum to handle things at the Co-op. He had help, sure, but they had been his assistants for months and were only recently pressed back into nursing duties because of various ailments, injuries, and illnesses throughout Petra. These maladies were solely among the spiritually undecided, which Leah thought should be a lesson to all.
But if there was one thing she had learned since becoming a fugitive from the Global Community, it was that people learned slowly. She had been taught and had heard over and over that mankind would be blind to the acts of God: they would see His mighty works and yet still reject Him and choose their own path. It was no longer a matter of unbelief. That was clear. No one in his right mind could see all that had gone on over the last seven years, starting with the Rapture, and still claim not to know this was the ultimate battle between good and evil, heaven and hell, God and the devil.
So if it was not unbelief, as had been Leah’s own problem in the pre-Rapture world, what was it? Were people insane? No, she decided, they were self-possessed, narcissistic, vain, proud. In a word, evil. They saw the acts of God and turned their backs on Him, choosing the pleasures of sin over eternity with Christ.
God had, in the meantime, hardened many hearts. And when these unbelievers changed their minds—or tried to—they were not even capable of repenting and turning to God. That had seemed unfair to Leah at first, but as the years rolled by and the judgments piled up, she began to see the logic of it. God knew that eventually sinners would grow weary of their own poverty, but His patience had a limit. There came a time when enough was enough. People had had way more than enough information to make a reasonable choice, and the sad fact was they had made the wrong one, time and time again.
Well, today was really the end. No question God’s mercy still extended to His chosen people. He, through His servants like Tsion and Chaim and the 144,000 witnesses, still pleaded with unbelievers in the final remnant to come to Him. And to hear it from Chang’s sources, millions were doing just that.
But Leah was intrigued to see that she was not, after all, unable to be further impressed. For when she and Hannah finally returned to the infirmary, she was staggered to find that everyone there had been healed. Everyone. No one was sick, hurt, or lame. All were up and about, congratulating each other, getting dressed, and leaving without even checking themselves out.
Best of all, many of the formerly undecided were on their knees, crying out to God to save them. And all around them were remnant volunteers, counseling them, praying with them.
“We, Hannah,” Leah said, “are out of work.”
She called Rayford, only to find that he was already up, dressed, and looking for action.
When he came within striking distance of the slowly advancing Unity Army, Rayford applied all three brakes to his ATV—the ones on each handlebar and the one under his right foot. He had been merrily cruising down the side of the rocky hill, hearing the advance. But when he swung around some underbrush and realized the army could see him, his eagerness was checked.
Many of the soldiers were on foot, vainly urging their horses upward. Those still mounted struggled to keep their animals pointed in the right direction. The soil was loose, the going rough. They didn’t look happy, but they sure looked intrigued to have a target.
“Identify yourself,” one barked, reining his horse and stopping ten feet in front of Rayford.
“Citizen of Petra,” Rayford said, his voice not as confident as he had expected.
“You’re now a prisoner of war.”
“You’re taking prisoners? There are more than a million of us.”
“Only you. You can be of help to us. We need to know where everyone is, the best way in, all that.”
“And then I can go?”
“Don’t be smart.”
“Well, as for where almost everyone else is, they’re inside. But you knew that. The best way in is all the way around the other side from where you are, but of course you’re not allowed. I’m curious, though. Why didn’t you take one of the perimeter guards hostage and ask these questions?”
“Massacred them all.”
“That so?” Rayford pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt and mashed the button. “Big Dog One, this is your captain. Over.”
“One, here. Hey, Rayford.”
“How’re we doing? Any casualties?”
“Not a one.”
“Then if I wanted to thumb my nose at the Unity Army, I should be confident that—”
“Where are you, man?”
“About a mile south of the western border.”
“I’m about a half mile down from you and on my way up.”
“In the middle of the enemy, Big Dog?”
“Exactly. Their bullets are no good here. Their blades either.”
“Kill him,” the soldier said, and half a dozen weapons opened fire.
Except for a ringing in his ears, Rayford did not suffer. “Maybe you all can tell me something,” he said. “I’m looking for your leader, the big man, the top guy. Where’s Carpathia?”
But the soldiers had paled. It was as if they were wondering what was the use. If they could not kill the rebels, what was the sense of storming their fortress? And what did the rebels need a fortress for, anyway?
“That’s all right,” Rayford said. “I have my sources. ’Scuse me,” he said as he let the ATV roll on down the way. “’Scuse me.” A few more soldiers shot at him and a couple of others thrust swords at him, but soon commanders were instructing personnel to save their ammunition for the siege of the stone citadel.
Finding Carpathia was not as difficult as Mac had feared. In the middle of the churning mass of humanity that pushed its way across the flatland toward the gridlock on the hill was a circle of lights pointed at a man on a bigger-than-average black stallion. Only Carpathia needed lights shined his way, so the worldwide television audience could see him in action.
As Mac watched from his chopper, Nicolae spent a lot of time holding his sword aloft and appearing to shout commands. Then he would sheath the weapon and engage in angry conversation with those around him, presumably his generals. He was clearly not happy with the slow pace, but when the sword was unsheathed again, he worked up a determined expression.
Mac called Rayford and gave him the coordinates where he might find the potentate.
“Thanks, Mac. I expect to run into Sebastian and some of his people first.”
As Rayford picked his way through the Unity Army, he found more and more soldiers who must have learned the futility of trying to attack their enemy outside Petra. They looked at him, raised weapons, then wearily moved on.
But soon there was a new development. Word came through the commanders that all personnel on the hill were to execute an immediate right-face and clear the area. Some grumbled, but most looked relieved. “About time,” Rayford heard one say.
As the thousands of horses and riders cleared the area, the rest of the Unity Army stopped at the foot of the hill. An area fifty feet wide was cleared in the middle of them, and Mac told Rayford that was the avenue Carpathia and his people would use.
“Looks like they’re planning to take over this operation themselves,” Mac said, “and it’s gonna happen as soon as he’s in place at the head of the line.”
“Their horses won’t have any more luck on this incline than the others did,” Rayford said.
“They’re gonna get rid of the horses, I think,” Mac said. “Nick himself is in the big Humvee, but they’ve also got the smaller Hummers, SUVs, and armored personnel carriers. Uh-oh, somethin’ else too. Grenade and missile launchers are comin’.”
“What do you mean, ‘uh-oh’? Why should those work any better here than bombs?”
“Good point. I’m just sayin’—”
Rayford came upon a Hummer carrying Sebastian, Weser, and Razor. It had little trouble managing the ascent, especially now that the Unity Army had abandoned the area. Rayford pulled up to the driver’s side and shut down his engine.
Sebastian lowered the window. “How exciting is this?” he said.
“You know you’re showing the enemy how to handle the terrain.”
“So it’ll be my fault if they crash through on top and kill everybody, and all the prophecies are proved wrong?”
“I’ll hold you responsible,” Rayford said. “Wanna have some fun? Follow me down and around. I’m going to settle in behind Carpathia’s mobile command center and tag along.”
Sebastian sighed. “I’m tempted,” he said. “Make it an order so I don’t have a choice.”
“What’s your best assessment of what you should be doing, George?”
Sebastian looked at Weser and Razor, then back at Rayford. “What I’m doing right now. I want to get all of my people back up there and inside so they have the best view of what’s next. I can’t abandon them now.”
“Then that’s what you ought to be doing.” Rayford slapped the hood of the Hummer. “Carry on.”
Abdullah was back on his dirt bike, noisily picking his way through tens of thousands of people. He supervised and advised elders as they directed undershepherds and group leaders in getting more than a million people to their places. The going was slow, but it was getting done.
Abdullah had scouted an area to the northeast and decided that was where Chaim and the elders should stand when everyone else was in place. At least 80 percent of the populace would be able to see Chaim from there. And in case he had any last words for the citizens, he had access to the public-address system. “But I expect all attention will be on the sky anyway,” he said.
Chaim could not hide his apprehension from Eleazar. “What is it?” the younger elder said.
“Lack of faith,” Chaim said.
“Surely not. Not you. The Lord has brought us too far, showed us too much. Can there be any doubt that He will appear and rescue us at the appointed time?”
“But what is that time, brother? Chang’s people tell me the Unity Army has cleared the western slope for a rolling armada with Carpathia himself in charge.”
“All the more reason to believe Messiah is coming soon. He will not fail us, will not break His promises. Antichrist cannot prevail, and the closer he comes, the sooner we shall be delivered.”
“I believe that, Eleazar.”
“Of course you do. So what troubles you?”
“Things have been left unsaid.”
“By you?” Elder Tiberius said with a twinkle. “I cannot imagine it.”
“I wanted to explain the imagery of the Glorious Appearing. Tsion and I both have spent so much time insisting on a literal approach to the Scriptures that I fear I have neglected some of the clearly symbolic references in the Glorious Appearing passages.”
“Perhaps there will still be time,” Eleazar said, “but why don’t we discuss it outside? The Lord may get here before you do!”
“But I must make notes.”
“Do you want to be in here scribbling when it happens? Bring pen and paper with you, Chaim, but come, please!”
For months Enoch had hidden his car a few blocks from the home where he lived in the cellar. He never turned on lights upstairs, and the basement windows were boarded over. The neighbors in Palos Hills never saw him out in the light of day because he would have been unable to hide the fact that he did not bear the mark of loyalty to the potentate. He sneaked in and out of the seemingly abandoned house in the wee hours of the morning.
But now here he sat in the high-fenced backyard, hearing neighbors quizzing each other, discussing the astronomical phenomena in panicky tones. What would they think of strangers invading, gathering in his yard? Would they take the time and trouble to check and see if he and his friends were renegades, fugitives, outlaws? Would there be time for the neighbors to put them to death?
Since the neighbors had to assume his place was uninhabited, nothing else would arouse suspicion in the dark. Why would they have to assume anything about him or his people? Ah, he thought, that’s naive. What would we all be doing here?
Mac had a clear view of the latest Unity Army maneuver, and he had to hand it to the leadership. Someone knew how to fix a problem. Whether it was Carpathia or one of his henchmen, the plan was working. The thousands from the front lines who had begun storming up the western slope found the going impossible and had already moved south, then west, then back northeast again, and had begun reinserting themselves into the ranks.
Meanwhile, the quarter-mile-long and fifty-foot-wide corridor had opened before Carpathia’s private unit—and also about fifty yards behind it. He and his people were transferring to rolling stock. A convoy of ten vehicles was maneuvered into position, trailed by two carriers of heavy armaments. If Mac had to guess, he would say Carpathia would lead the charge, the munitions right behind, and that the rest of the army—other than those on horseback—would bring up the rear.
From where Mac sat, it was obvious that under other circumstances Petra wouldn’t have had a chance. They were unarmed and outnumbered three or four to one by only a third of Carpathia’s total fighting force. Unity Army vehicles could easily traverse the terrain, and the front line of this new unit could be on the other side of the walls of Petra in less than half an hour.
Mac called Chang. “You able to crack into Carpathia’s communications yet?”
“Almost. I can pick up everybody but him, but I’ve got a rapid decoder screaming through it, so it shouldn’t be long.”
“Patch it through to me as soon as you get it, hear?”
“You got it. Rayford wants the same.”
“Roger.”
Rayford waited at the base of the hill, facing the Unity Army about ten degrees south of the opening that had been left for Carpathia’s unit. Rayford was virtually ignored as the rest of the troops had quickly become aware of the VIP in their midst. All eyes were on Nicolae.
Rayford’s plan was to fall in with Carpathia as he swept past, hoping not to attract attention. That would have been sheer folly aside from what had already occurred. The Unity Army had finally seemed to concede that they had no power on the perimeter against the meager defense. Why they thought they had a prayer inside Petra itself, given their futile history against God’s people, was a mystery. Carpathia’s ego knew no bounds.
Enoch’s fears proved unfounded. His people were sly enough to appear silently in twos and threes, and they found their way to the backyard without drawing notice. The neighbors drifted to their own homes eventually anyway, and Enoch was left in the yard with more than forty of the hundred or so that had joined him at the mall that morning.
They gathered around his chair and sat in the grass, no one seeming to grow tired of gazing at the cross adorning the horizon. “Come, Lord Jesus,” several whispered, and others joined in. “Come, Lord. Come soon.”
“Everything that’s gonna happen is going to be over there, right, Pastor?” a young man said.
“Over there?”
“In the Holy Land. You said Jesus was going to fight for the Jews in Petra first, then save Jerusalem. How we gonna know when He’s come?”
“Well,” Enoch whispered, “the Bible says the whole world will know when He comes. Revelation 1:7 says, ‘Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.’”
“How’s He gonna ’complish that? Holy Land’s on the other side of the world.”
“Don’t you think they’re seeing what we’re seeing now?”
“I guess, but like when the moon is out, people over there see the other side of it, right?”
“They could be seeing the other side of this cross too. We have no idea how massive it is.”
“Or if there’s more than one,” someone said.
“How’s that?” Enoch said.
“God can do what He wants, right?”
“Right.”
“He could put ten crosses in the sky to make sure ever’body sees one.”
“But there’s only one Jesus.”
“Yeah, but He can show up anywhere He wants, all at the same time. Just like He was only one man but He died for everybody, He can appear to everybody too.”
“Now you’re talking,” Enoch said.
“Is He gonna kill a bunch of people here, like He is over there?”
“I’m afraid He is. If they’re working for the Antichrist, they’re in serious trouble.”
“Rayford, you should see this from where I’m sittin’,” Mac said.
“I kind of like where I am,” Rayford said.
“Yeah, but it’s pretty. The red-stone city is lit from the cross above, and I feel like I’m in one of those blimps that used to hover over the football stadiums at night. Everybody’s just about in place, ringing the top of Petra. In front, people are sitting so the ones standing behind them can see. Most of ’em’ll be able to see the Unity Army attacking and the Lord returning. I hope He gets here soon.”
“I imagine He’ll be right on time, don’t you?”
“I imagine. I can see Chaim and the elders makin’ their way to a spot where most everybody can see them. You gotta wonder if anybody is scared to death out there on the edge.”
“I would be, and I’ve lived through it all.”
“Me too, Ray. Guess it’s human nature to feel like you’re testin’ fate one time too many. Hey, looks like Chaim’s addressin’ ’em. I’m gonna see if Chang can patch us in—oh, he’s way ahead of us. Here it is. Talk at you later.”
“. . . and sisters in the Messiah,” Chaim was saying. “We gather here in this historic place, this holy city of refuge provided by the Lord God Himself. We stand on the precipice of all time with the shadow of history behind us and eternity itself before us, putting all our faith and trust in the rock-solid goodness and strength and majesty of our Savior.
“May the Lord appear as I speak. Oh, the glory of that moment! We stand gazing into the heavens where the promised sign of the Son of Man radiates before us, thundering through the ages the truth that His death on the cross cleanses us from all sin.
“Within the next few minutes, you may see the enemy of God advancing on this fortified city. I say to you with all the confidence the Father has put in my soul, fear not, for your salvation draweth nigh.
“Now many have asked what is to happen when Antichrist comes against God’s chosen people and the Son intervenes. The Bible says He will slay our enemy with a weapon that comes from His mouth. Revelation 1:16 calls it ‘a sharp two-edged sword.’ Revelation 2:16 quotes Him saying that He ‘will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.’ Revelation 19:15 says that ‘out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.’ And Revelation 19:21 says the enemies ‘were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse.’
“Now let me clarify. I do not believe the Son of God is going to sit on His horse in the clouds with a gigantic sword hanging from His mouth. He is not going to shake His head and slay the millions of Armageddon troops with it. This is clearly a symbolic reference, and if you are a student of the Bible, you know what is meant by a sharp, double-edged sword.
“Hebrews 4:12 says the Word of God ‘is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’
“The weapon our Lord and Messiah will use to win the battle and slay the enemy? The Word of God itself! And while the reference to it as a sword may be symbolic, I hold that the description of the result of it is literal. The Word of God is sharp and powerful enough to slay the enemy, literally tearing them asunder.”
Anticipation surged through Rayford. He turned to look up at Petra when the cheering and applause drowned out Chaim, who was apparently finished. Emotion swept over Rayford as he took in the scene. Rimming the very top of the fortified city was the remnant of God, slowly turning from Chaim to face the sky and then the enemy below them.
From that distance they were mere specks, but there were so many that Rayford could tell they were raising their hands and clasping them together. He heard the strains of hymns from their collective voices, faint at first, then with growing volume. First they sang “I Sing the Mighty Power of God.” Moments later they sang “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”
When they broke into the “Hallelujah Chorus,” Rayford wished he could stand and join in. And when the echoing truths washed down the mountainside—“For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth”—he thought he would shed his skin.
At that moment Chang apparently solved the encryption coding of the potentate’s audio transmission, and it came crackling through the earphone in Rayford’s left ear. So at the same time he was hearing the magnificent hallelujahs in one ear, he heard Antichrist in the other.
And Nicolae was not happy. “Let us roll! The fools are singing!” He cursed and cursed again. “They sing in the face of their own deaths!”
The caravan began rolling, the cross above it bouncing waves of light off the dust that ensued. “Take me to the highest and closest point,” Nicolae ordered, “with our munitions settling in behind where the angle is optimal. I shall stand on the roof of the vehicle so all can see me: my troops to be inspired, and the enemy so they know the author of their doom.”
At the mention of Carpathia’s intended destination, Rayford glanced again up the slope to where hundreds of thousands swayed and sang and looked down. The immense cross shone on the entire hillside, as if pointing the enemy to the spot where God Himself wanted them.
Rayford had to wonder if any in Petra had second thoughts, doubts. He was happy to say he had none. He had come too far. His own pride and laziness had cost him his wife and son at the Rapture. He’d felt responsible for the fact that his own daughter had shared his jaded view of people of faith and had followed his example, thumbing her nose at God.
And while he was grateful beyond expression for his own salvation and Chloe’s, seeing her and her husband martyred was merely the capstone of the tragedy that resulted from his having missed the truth in the first place. So many friends and loved ones had suffered over the past seven years. New friends, old friends, a new wife, spiritual mentors, dear compatriots had been injured, killed, tortured for their faith.
Yet God had proved faithful and true to His Word. Every prophecy had been fulfilled. While there had to be those who wondered why the Lord tarried even now and whether there was any sense or logic to allowing Antichrist to reach the very boundary of the city of refuge, Rayford found himself simply trusting. God had His plans, His ways, His strategy. Only when Rayford stopped questioning God had he finally come to grips with the confusing, sometimes maddening, ways of God—which the Scriptures said were “not our ways.”
Some things still didn’t make sense, and many would not become clear, he knew, until he saw Jesus face-to-face.
The evil motorcade thundered within yards of Rayford. He gunned his ATV engine and joined them, a couple of vehicles behind Carpathia’s and ahead of the rumbling armament carriers. A general tried to wave him off. Rayford smiled and waved back. The general reached for a weapon from an aide and aimed it out the window. Rayford winked at him, and the man opened fire.
The general blanched when the burp of bullets he’d fired at point-blank range seemed to go right through Rayford.
“No shooting!” Carpathia screamed. “Ignore any enemy outside the walls of the city!”
Abdullah studied his copy of the location charts and slowly picked his way through narrow pathways and crowds until he found the area where George Sebastian’s wife, Priscilla, should be with her daughter, Beth Ann, and Rayford’s grandson, Kenny Bruce. Once there, he had to ask several people, but finally he found them.
Priscilla had Beth Ann next to her, holding her hand, and her free arm held a lanky, incongruously sleeping Kenny, draped over her shoulder.
“Let me take him,” Abdullah said.
“Oh, would you, Mr. Smith? He’s getting so heavy.”
“Come here, big boy,” Abdullah said, taking him in his arms. He gently put Kenny’s head on his shoulder and began to rock him, but when Abdullah also tried to quietly join in the singing, the boy roused.
“Uncle Smitty,” he said.
“Hi, Kenny.”
“Jesus comin’,” the boy said.
“Yes, He is, buddy. He sure is.”