CHAPTER 18
Monday, February 4 – MD minus 111
HUSHAI WAS PLEASED with the American initiative, although he expected more questions than information. Dialog was what was important here and both sides made hard calls on how much of what they knew to share. Ittai had been instructed not to reveal the website or inquire about the two messages they had pulled off of it. If Iran was directly involved and knew that the US had discovered how communications are passed, that would end immediately. Same for the code, it was simply too great a risk to do more than ask questions.
“Hushai,” Ittai began, “Satellite imagery confirms that the meeting has ended and the participants are on their way back here, probably to catch flights or travel to other airports and disperse.. Any possibility we can get some help on who these people are and where they are going? Obviously, of particular importance would be information on travel by anyone in this group to the US.”
“The simple answer, unfortunately, is no” Hushai responded. “Other than El-Ahab, the Iranians don’t know who these people are or where they came from. These people traveled here on phony passports and visas. They are not operatives, and thus, no one here has any history with them. It appeared that most had never been in Iran before. They were Eastern men clothed with Western culture and practices. There is no record to draw on to determine who they are, and the Iranian government is not going to act against them as long as their target is America.”
“What can you tell me they learned from their operative, Ahmad Habid, the man who should be dead?” Ittai asked.
“Tell the Americans that they were wise not to kill him now,” Hushai answered. “He may be the only hope any of us have in finding out when the attack is planned. They allowed him in the meeting only long enough to outline what they wanted done to tie the American military down in the Middle East during the assault on their homeland. He agreed to nothing, but will plan a massive strike once he has a date. They didn’t give him a date or any information on what they planned on doing in the US. He had some very unpleasant things to say about the white collar planners. He is not comfortable with men who have no blood on their hands and who are unwilling to risk themselves to kill their enemies.
“Here is the bottom line – the attacks have to be more than a month away because they know it will take that long to finalize plans and produce the IEDs and car bombs necessary to do the damage they desire. On the other hand, the attack date is not too far off if they called Habid in to tell him what they want him to do. They know he will begin to plan and work through logistics for the largest possible attack. The Iranians believe that the attack is probably ninety days out at the most and are preparing accordingly.”
“Preparing what?” Ittai asked.
“What would you think?” Hushai responded. “They are preparing to take advantage of the vacuum which will be created if the terrorists succeed in launching a full-scale assault. They will destroy Israel, who will be without the help and logistical support of the Americans. They will use nuclear weapons if they have them by then. With America effectively negated as a threat, they will seek to unite other Arab countries in driving the Jews into the sea. It is a dream scenario for the current government. They know none of the other Western nations has the will or the military power to stand against them on behalf of Israel. It would be a complete nightmare for the world as Israel would use its nuclear weapons and the US would be in a position to similarly respond, at least from ships and subs. I tremble to think what would happen here and around the world.
“The real problem is that the West doesn’t understand what drives this sect and why they will never seek peace. Everything is based on the belief in the Hidden Imam and his prophesized reappearance. The West is often so blind. Hitler’s Mein Kampf told the world exactly what he would do if he had power and the world was shocked when he did exactly what he said he would.
“In 1979 when Ayatollah Khomeini became the leader who established the Islamic Republic of Iran, it was written in Article Five of its constitution that the basis of the constitution and its government was the authority of the Hidden Imam. The constitution promises that the government will dissolve in his favor when the Hidden Imam reappears, yet the American news and government ignores this fundamental reality which drives Iranian policy and has divided Muslim believers for centuries.”
“Help me here, Hushai. My knowledge of this teaching is very limited.”
“It is not simply a teaching. It is a worldview that controls life and is the central reason for the conflict among Muslims. Its genesis was the battle for leadership after the death of Muhammad. Two groups emerged, one the Sunni, who accepted new leadership regardless of the leader’s blood relation to Muhammad. The other, the Shi’a, believed that the true successor to Muhammad had to be a descendant of the cousin and son-inlaw of the prophet. As such, these Imams inherited Muhammad’s authority not only for civil rule but additionally his prerogative to interpret the Quran infallibly. At its core, the Shi’a’s beliefs would result in absolute control of government and religion as one, which is the Iranian model.
“Although there are divisions among the Shi’a, the group in control in Iran is among those who believe that there were twelve legitimate Imams, the last of which disappeared before 900 AD leaving no children. The belief is that he was hidden from the eyes of men by God in order to preserve his life and that he will be revealed to the world by God and will return to purify the faith and take the world for Islam. His return will be preceded by chaos, war and bloodshed. He will come and lead a vast army to battle the forces of evil, and after defeating evil will rule the world. This group also believes Jesus will return with him, not to rule, but rather to affirm his reign and assist in bringing peace to the world.”
“Sounds a little like the Christian teaching on the Apocalypse,” Hushai added, “but what does it have to do with the situation at hand?”
“Think about it for a minute. If you truly believe that there is only one legitimate earthly ruler, then all others are enemies as are their followers. The real danger here is that they believe they can speed the return of the Hidden Imam by creating the exact situation which prophecies say will exist when he returns – chaos, war, and bloodshed. If he is going to return in victory then you cannot be defeated, so you fear no one. The current government in Iran is actively preparing for the return of the Hidden Imam as policy and will do anything they believe will speed his return. They will fight those who oppose this teaching, which explains their actions in Iraq against the Sunni people. That is why America and the West generally are viewed as the Great Satan – the enemy of the Hidden Imam – the subject of the final battle for him to rule and Islam to control the world. Start the fight and he will come. That is what they believe and that is why they are so dangerous.
“I may live here, but I don’t fully understand the implications of this teaching,” Ittai continued. “You may know that I am a Christian, who walks through the Muslim practices so I can stay and do my job. It is difficult, but this is where God has placed me. The hardest part of all this is the deception under which I see these people live. Can you imagine believing that killing yourself and innocents brings heavenly reward? Virgins to satisfy their wildest physical desires? Can you imagine a belief system that says chaos and war and bloodshed is good because it will bring a leader of peace? It’s twisted and tragic. The more I see it, the more I ask, ‘How can we contest it? How can we open these peoples’ eyes to truth?’”
“I have known that you are a Christian, for I too am a believer,” Hushai answered. “They let me stay because I provide them information on the Americans. I am a necessary evil until they crush the Great Satan and then I’m gone. They will ultimately kill me like they will kill all infidels, if they can.
“The answers to your questions are in God’s hands. There is no policy your government can establish that will change the hearts of these people. You may be able to block their efforts for now, but something has to change fundamentally if there is to be hope here. The conflict and effort to control the earth have been ongoing for over a thousand years. The other day I was watching a cable news broadcast of a citizens group organizing to stop a shooter in a small American city. That broadcast ended with an old man speaking what I thought was the first true words of hope about the situation. He said we ought to pray and find out why God is allowing this. That is the real answer, for if God doesn’t open eyes and change hearts, they will eventually prevail. If God does not protect America, your government can’t.”
They drove through the city in silence, contemplating the meaning of what had just been shared. Overwhelmed, emotions flooded their thoughts about these people and the terrorist groups assembling. A great sadness fell over them as they confronted the reality that all who lived and died in this blindness would not be experiencing their anticipated inheritance of many virgins, but in reality, would suffer the second death. The sadness was palpable and shared alongside them by the forces of light, which surrounded them as they turned to go back to the hotel.
Suddenly Hushai broke the silence, “Please, find a quiet place to pull over and let’s pray. I feel an overwhelming sense of God’s anguish and sadness over what he sees in this place – children taught to be killers, women treated like cattle, such worship of hatred and destruction. I want to pray for wisdom about the attacks, but more than that, I want to pray for these people that I know God loves. It is as if some force of darkness controls their minds and has blinded their eyes so they cannot see, and has shut their ears so they cannot hear. If only they could be freed to see and hear and understand the truth of God’s love in Jesus Christ.”
“My heart is one with yours, Hushai. There is more at work here than simply trying to stop the attacks. God has a much larger plan.”
Ittia found a quiet place and they were together in prayer. Unseen and unknown, the car had been surrounded by the forces of light, creating an impenetrable barrier to the forces of darkness and causing the vehicle to be essentially invisible to human eyes. The presence surrounding the car was so great that the light which shone through the darkness, joined with the prayers of Ittai and Hushai, reached the very throne room of God in Heaven. It shone through the spiritual world like the star that revealed the location of the birth of the Christ child,147 only this time the star was on the earth shining forth to the heavens, announcing the prayers of these two brothers joined by the forces of light. As the sun began to rise, there beside the two men appeared a third in the car. God had heard and remembered another time in this same part of the world when a faithful servant poured out his heart in prayer and He again sent Gabriel, an Archangel.150 Ittai and Hushai trembled with fear as he spoke, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God and have been sent to give you these instructions for all your brothers.151 Listen carefully. ‘Stand together and pray,’” and he was gone.
Like the shepherds whose heavenly visitation announced the birth of Jesus, these two overcame their fear and rushed back to the hotel to share with other believers what they had seen and been told,152 and to continue the search for information on the coming attacks. They knew that somehow this was all tied together in God’s plan.
“Ittai,” Hushai said as they parted. “Please find a way to get word of God’s message to the old man in America. He needs to know and be encouraged.”
“I will try,” was Ittai’s response and his mind raced to think of someone he could trust to deliver God’s message.
Paul & Samantha Continue Their Search
Paul and Samantha sat in her living room trying to take in all that had happened since her Dad’s funeral. It seemed like an eternity of change. Both were thankful they were not searching alone.
“Samantha, I am so sorry that your first encounter with the Bookseller was that outburst at Pastor Elkhorn, I have never seen him that angry. I was afraid you were going to get up and leave.”
“I almost did. I was hurt and angry, but even in the midst of the outburst, there was one thing I could not escape. If I left, where could I go to get the answers? Everything I have heard about this man from you and seen what he said at the news conference was consistent with the teachings we had read in the red letter books. He is radically passionate about God, but that passion seemed, at that moment, to center on a concern that we must not be deceived about who God is. I think it was really an expression of his love for us.”
“Help me understand, Sam, if you were aware of all those things, why the tears? I don’t mean to invade your privacy, but I care about you deeply and I honestly just don’t understand what you’re feeling.”
“You can ask me anything, Paul. I have nothing to hide from you. I think we’re both considering the future of our relationship as well as our relationship with God. I want you to know what’s on my heart as we walk through this together.
“I cried because I felt such a rush of sadness and disappointment that we may have gotten it wrong and I still may not be a Christian. We did everything that Pastor Elkhorn said to do and it was all wrong,” she said, raising her hand to wipe a tear. “The Bookseller made it clear from Jesus’ own words that God has to do something in us. It’s not simply about us choosing God. He has to choose us and then change us. When we read that book called ‘John’ from which the Bookseller quoted, I really fell in love with Jesus and want to be His follower. The thought that I may have missed Him is heartbreaking to me. I really want Him; I want that change. I understand that I really need him. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, although the emotion I felt was more a fear of the second death and anger at Pastor Elkhorn. I am so sorry that we went there. I knew after my conversation with Professor Thompson that he didn’t believe the Bible and I knew he taught at that church. I should have asked the Bookseller where to go to church.”
“There was one really encouraging thing the Bookseller said,” Samantha continued. “Did you hear? He said that God has chosen you to search and you are searching. I believe that He has chosen both of us and we are both searching. Don’t you?”
“Absolutely,” Paul responded. “The greatest joy of all this for me has been searching together and that was what the Bookseller said we should continue to do. I wrote down that reference to the verse he gave us. It was Jeremiah 29:13.” Grabbing the Bible and going to the index to find the page number, Paul came to Jeremiah chapter 29. He found verse 13 and read, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
“What about that old is gone the new has come verse153 and Jesus’ statement that we must be born again?154 Paul, do you think we have been changed? The dream showed you without the light inside and me in a fog, but that was a long time ago. It was before we began our search. How about now? Are we different?”
“I have been thinking a lot about that,” Paul responded. “We are different since the funeral. We have a desire to search for God. When that false dream came, God brought back the verses we had read to my memory and gave me peace that the dream was not truth. We both have a desire to please God and to know what He requires. Those are all new things. I am confident that God wants us and we want Him, but do we want Him with all our hearts? I don’t know what that means really. I know we need to have faith in Jesus, but what does that mean? I still have so many questions.”
“Me too, but I have a suggestion,” Samantha answered. “Let’s keep reading the Bible. Let’s read the books after the red letter ones and see what they say. As we read, we can write down the questions we have and pray that God will show us the answers. When you meet with the Bookseller again, ask him to show you in the Bible what it means to have faith in Jesus. Write it down and bring it back and show me. We can do this together.”
Paul turned in the Bible past the book of John to the book called Acts and began to read. Still unknown to Paul, the light within him burned brightly as he continued his search to learn more of the God who had already found him because he had sought God with all his heart.
Iranian Hardball
Security at Iranian airports was arbitrary and abusive. Under the direction of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the State Security Forces (SSF) had been given latitude to do whatever they deemed appropriate to protect the existing government from dissent or threats, real or perceived. Given the recent threat of war from an arm of al-Qaeda, it was now a matter of national security to know the actual targets of terrorists who trained or operated from Iranian territory. They could no longer be assumed to be friendly.
Security was on special alert in light of the way the terrorist planners had treated their own Ahman Habid. The terrorist leadership wanted his help but was unwilling to share specific information on their planned operation. Habid had noted their descriptions carefully and passed the information on to the SSF, who were now on the lookout for the leaders. They intended to get answers.
When Demas Assad, leader of the terrorist operatives in the United States, and the others arrived in a caravan at the airport, they were met by the SSF and taken to a secured area of the airport where they were directed to separate rooms to be interrogated. Assad was livid. “By whose authority do you detain these instruments of the Sheik who have come to complete plans for attacks to destroy our mutual enemy, America?”
The SSF commander’s response was blunt, simple and effective, “One additional word from you that is not in response to a question and I will cut out your tongue.” With that, he displayed a wicked knife that was still stained with some innocent’s blood. The silence was deafening. Assad was a planner, not an operative, and he had no intention of sacrificing himself for the cause.
Assad’s luggage and carry-on baggage were taken from him along with that of the others who had come in the caravan. As the baggage was searched, Assad’s laptop was discovered in his carry-on bag. It was quickly removed to another room and given to a technician, who after some effort was able to sign in, access the programs and do a visual search. He found an index which included the agenda and a file entitled ‘Final Solution.’ He had been told what to look for, but because he didn’t speak English well, he only knew that he had found what he was looking for. Inserting a connection to an external hard drive, he copied everything on the laptop for later analysis by the SSF. Then, looking carefully around the room to be sure the SSF personnel were focused elsewhere, he took a flash drive out of his pocket and quickly copied the “Final Solution” file. He returned the small drive to his pocket before anyone noticed and gave the external hard drive to the SSF official in charge. The computer and other luggage were returned to Assad and he went on his way, thankful to still have a tongue