Left Behind-The Kids: Murder In The Holy Place Chapter 12
Vicki called a meeting of the Young Trib Force in Wisconsin. The underground hideout was overcrowded with new arrivals, and everyone knew some would eventually have to move to another hiding place. Vicki explained the situation with Claudia and, though there was intense discussion, they agreed that Mark and Vicki would accompany Manny back to Des Plaines in hopes of bringing Claudia to safety.
Vicki stressed the importance of prayer, and everyone agreed there would be someone in a designated room praying while they were gone.
“We’ve received another message from Doctor Ben Judah,” Vicki said.
“Nobody else has died, have they?” Charlie said.
“No. This is a message he wants everyone to hear. I’ll leave it for you to read, but I want to stress a couple of his points.
“Tsion says Nicolae has scheduled what the Bible calls the desecration of the Temple.” Vicki pulled an Old Testament text onto the huge screen. “Daniel prophesied that the king of this time period in history will ‘exalt and magnify himself above every god’ and ‘shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods."”
“What are blastomys?” Charlie asked.
Vicki smiled. “A blasphemy is making fun of God. It means you take what is holy, and make it unholy. It’s like riding a pig down the Via Dolorosa just to make fun of Jesus.”
Charlie nodded. “That Carpathia’s a really bad guy.”
“Tsion writes about why people don’t believe the truth of God. There is a danger that the people were trying to reach have hardened their hearts. People who do this won’t be able to change their minds.”
“But we don’t know who those people are,” Darrion said.
“Exactly,” Vicki said, “so we need to keep giving the message and looking for as many opportunities as possible. And
Left Behind-The Kids: Murder In The Holy Place Chapter 12
Buck followed Chaim to the Temple, where, within 20 minutes, civilians without the mark of the beast scurried to set up TV cameras and make arrangements, apparently following a hastily written and reproduced instructions. From where he and Chaim sat, Buck saw others tidying up the Temple Mount, some carting off the slain heckler, some directing people either to spectator locations for what they called the “Temple festivities” or to first–aid lines, and still others replacing in the medical tents GC doctors and nurses who had themselves fallen to ill to help out.
“Pray for me,” Chaim said.
“Why? What? Carpathia is not even here yet.”
Chaim stood and began to speak, again in a huge voice. “Citizens! Hear me! You who have not taken the mark of loyalty! There may still be time to choose to obey the one true and living God! While the evil ruler of this world promises peace, there is no peace! While he promises benevolence and prosperity, look at your world! Everyone who has proceeded you in taking the mark of sin now suffers with grievous sores. This is your lot if you follow him.
“By now you must know that the world has been divided. Nicolae Carpathia is the opponent of God and wishes only your destruction, regardless of his lies. The God who created you loves you. His Son who died for your sins will return to set up His earthly kingdom in less than 3 1/2 years, and if you have not already rejected Him one time too many, you may receive Him now.”
“You were born in sin and separated from God, but the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that nothing we can do will earn our salvation but that it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. The only payment for our sins was Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. Because besides being fully man, He is fully God, and His one death had the power to cleanse all of us of our sin.”
David Hassid sat stunned in the desolate aloneness of a “high place” in Petra. While the pagan religions of the ancient past had used such locations to sacrifice to their gods in a helpless, desperate attempt to gain favor, all he wanted was to express to God is thanks for grace. Nothing he could do or say or sacrifice could gain what God had offered him freely.
All he could see were sky, clouds, valleys, and the occasional bird of prey. It was clear this would be the ideal cradle of refuge for the remnant of Israel, for those who recognized that Jesus was the long-awaited, prophesied Messiah. It was He who would put the finishing touches on God’s love affair with His chosen people.
But David’s own field of expertise, the gadgets and marvels of technology, would not allow him the proper reprieve to exult in the holiness of God’s plan. He had needed, desperately, to know the truth about Chang. But now the news of Hattie Durham had rocked him. And here was a brief message, laboriously pecked in from Buck’s cell phone, that said David needed to monitor activities at the Temple Mount. Yet another message from Tsion announced a final teaching on the next event on the prophetic calendar, Antichrist’s desecration of the Holy of Holies.
Buck is a mess of stitches and bruises, aches and pains, from falling from the airplane Rayford flew out of the Tel Aviv Airport. Rayford had tried to get him on board, but he grabbed a wire that wouldn’t allow the door to close and fell from there. He landed in the bushes just outside the airport. After seeing the two witnesses at the Wailing Wall and receiving an encouraging word from them, he taxied to the home of Chaim Rosenzweig and with a little help from the gateman Jonas, he was able to enter Chaim’s home and go to sleep. On television, Buck’s picture was being shown over and over again while claiming that he had killed a GC guard. In the morning God brought another judgment on the world. The sun lost a third of its light and it became freezing cold everywhere on Earth.
Meanwhile in Chicago, Chloe is planning a system originally designed by Ken Ritz to connect Christians all over the world who could trade what would be needed by each once the Mark of the beast began that would keep people from being able to buy or sell without the mark of the Beast. Hattie Durham won’t receive the Lord because she is set on just one thing – she wants to kill Carpathia who is both the one who gave her a child that died in her womb, but the Antichrist himself. Suddenly, as the spring weather dropped to freezing in the sun lost a third of its light, the people both in Israel and at home wondered how they would use much of their equipment any further because it was solar powered. That same problem should highly affect
the worldwide technology the Antichrist is using too. Ray picks the story of at this point.
Eating a late dinner that evening, Tsion shared with the Stateside Tribulation Force his joy over a wildly successful effort by many believers on the Internet. “I merely put out a simple request—you all saw it—for translators in various countries to interpret the daily messages in their own languages. You can imagine how much of the web is made up of Asian language groups, Spanish, German, and others. “Well,” he added with a twinkle, “not only did I get far more volunteers than I needed, but some very advanced computer types are offering free software downloads that automatically translate into other languages. It’s Pentecost on the Net. I’m able to type in unknown tongues!”
Rayford was always warmed by the joy Tsion took in his work and ministry. He had sacrificed as much as anyone in their little group—a wife and two children. Chloe had lost her mother and brother and now two friends. Rayford had lost two wives, his son, his pastor, and more new acquaintances than he wanted to think about. Everybody around the table, Doc Charles and Hattie included, had reason to go mad if they allowed themselves to dwell on it.
Momentary smiles were all they could muster when Tsion shared a story like that or someone made the occasional wry comment. Raucous laughter or silliness just didn’t have a place in their lives anymore. Grief was wearying, Rayford thought. He looked forward to that day when God would wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there would be no more war.
That was one reason he looked forward with relish to the ten o’clock news event that had been trumpeted on the GC Broadcasting Networks all day. The GC was bringing together experts who would speak to the official statement of the government related to the darkness that had already begun to take its toll. Buck had insinuated that Chaim would be entertaining. Although Rayford couldn’t imagine a belly looked forward to the diversion.
“I just hope,” Tsion said, “that we detect some movement in Chaim’s spirit. When I was laying out all the prophecies again for him, I challenged him. I said, ‘Chaim, how can a man with such a mind as yours ignore the mathematical impossibility of so many dozens of prophecies referring to just one man unless he is the Messiah?’ He started with the typical argument about not knowing whether the Bible is authentic. I said, ‘My mentor! You would doubt your own Torah? Where do you think I am coming up with this stuff?’ I tell you, young people, it won’t be long for Chaim. I just don’t want him to wait too long.”
Darkening Skies, Chs. 9&10 – Fracture in the family, Reunion
VICKI looked at Mark’s prediction on the computer. Though she was never that good at math, his numbers seemed right. At dinner she announced an all-out effort to store fuel. “We have enough food to keep us going a few months,” Vicki said, “but if Mark is right about what’s coming, we need to insulate the problem areas and get more fuel.”
“What fuel?” Janie asked.
“Firewood,” Vicki answered, “enough to last a couple months.”
Janie sighed. “Thought I was done with grunt labor when I escaped the GC camp.”
Vicki ignored her. “Conrad, I need you to coordinate the around-the-clock GC lookout from the tower.”
“Already done,” Conrad said. “We do three eight-hour shifts. Shelly’s up there right now.”
“Any luck with the box?” Vicki asked.
Conrad shook his head. “I’ve broken three saw blades on it so far.”
“It’ll have to take a backseat to this,” Vicki said. “As a matter of fact, we’ll have to postpone classes, too.”
“What happens if his predictions don’t come true?” Melinda wanted to know. “We’re already into spring. Summer’s not far away. How’s it going to get that cold this time of year?”
“Yeah,” Janie said, “we could work our tails off for nothing.”
Mark scowled. “Dr. Ben-Judah’s been predicting stuff since the GC made their treaty with Israel. He hasn’t been wrong yet.”
********
judd was crushed by the deaths of Taylor and Hasina. He wanted to call the media and tell them the truth about what happened, but he knew the media was controlled by Nicolae Carpathia. A sense of despair set in. Not only had they lost two friends, but they had also lost their best chance of getting home. Judd went to his room and tried to sleep, but couldn’t. He composed an e-mail and sent it to Conrad, then fixed a cup of coffee. His father had been a big-time coffee drinker, but his mother had warned Judd not to start. In his senior year he had pulled several all-nighters with nothing but sheer willpower and a thermos filled with coffee. Now, as Judd held the hot cup and thought about his family, it seemed like two different lives. Only a little more than two years had passed since the vanishings. In those two years his life had turned upside down. Nothing was constant. He seemed to always be on the run.
Darkening Skies, Chs. 9&10 – Fracture in the family, Reunion
Buck peeked in on Chloe before heading out with Chaim. She appeared sound asleep. “Do you mind driving?” Chaim asked. “It has been so long since I was allowed.”
“Allowed?” Chaim smiled wearily. “Once you become, how shall I say it, a personality in this country, especially in this city, you are treated like royalty. I cannot go anywhere unescorted. I was not even famous when first you did the cover story on me.”
“You were revered, however.” Chaim checked with his gateman, Jonas, for the latest word on Jacov. “Stefan?” Buck heard him say. Then something urgent and frustrated in Hebrew. Chaim directed Buck to the last stall in the garage, and Buck slid behind the wheel of an ancient sedan. “I don’t want everyone to know I am coming. The Mercedes is well known. You drive a stick shift, do you not?”
Buck feathered the throttle and quickly caught on to the vagaries of the manual transmission. He worried more about the bald state of the tires. “Any idea where we’re going?”
“Yes, I am afraid I do,” Chaim said. “Jacov is an alcoholic.”
Buck shot him a double take. “You have an alcoholic as your driver?” “He’s dry. Recovering they call it. But in times of crisis, he reverts.”
“Falls off the wagon?”
“I do not know that expression.” “It’s an old Americanism. Early in the twentieth century the Women’s Christian Temperance Union would roll the Temperance Wagon into town, decrying the evils of alcohol and calling on offenders to give it up and get on the wagon. When a sober man went back to drinking, it was called falling off the wagon.”
“Well, I’m afraid that is what has happened here,” Chaim said, pointing where Buck was to turn. As they moved into smaller neighborhoods with houses and buildings closer together, Buck began noticing things he hadn’t seen on the drive from Chaim’s to the stadium. Jerusalem had grown seedy. How he had loved to visit this city just a few years before! It had had its rundown areas, but overall it had been kept with pride. Since the disappearances, certain types of crime and lewd activity had sprung up that he never expected to see in public here. Drunks staggered along, some with their arms slung around ladies of the evening. As Buck drove farther into the city he saw strip clubs, tattoo parlors, fortune-telling shops, and triple-X-rated establishments. “What has happened to your city?”
Left Behind Marathon! Completes all of Soul Harvest and starts Apolyon
Buck slipped back into Chloe’s room, desperate to let her know he was there and she was safe.
He could hardly bear to look at her black and purple face with the eye is so swollen. He gently took her hand and leaned close, “Chloe, I’m here, and I won’t let anything happen to you. But I need your help. Squeeze my hand. Blink. Let me know you’re with me.”
No response. Buck lay his cheek on her pillow, his lips inches from her ear. “Oh, God,” he prayed, “why couldn’t you have let this happen to me? Why her? Help me get her out of here, God, please!”
Her hand felt like a feather, and she seemed fragile as a newborn. What a contrast to the strong woman he had loved and come to know. She was normally fearless, but she was also smart. How he wished she was up to being his ally in this.
Chloe’s breathing accelerated, and Buck opened his eyes as a tear slid past her ear. He looked her in the face. She blinked furiously, and he wondered if she was trying to communicate. “I’m here,” he said over and over. “Chloe, it’s Buck.”
The GC guard had been gone too long. Buck prayed he was out there waiting with the marker but too intimidated to knock. Otherwise, who knew whom he might bring with them and what might squash any chance Buck had to protect Chloe.
He spoke quickly. “Sweetheart, I don’t know if you can hear me, but try to concentrate. I’m switching your name with the woman’s in the other bed. Her name is Ashton. And I’m pretending to be your doctor. Okay? Can you grasp that?”
Buck waited, hoping. Finally, a flicker.
Left Behind Marathon! Completes all of Soul Harvest and starts Apolyon
Rayford was learning joy in the midst of sorrow. His heart told him Amanda was alive. His mind told him she was dead. As for her betrayal of him, of the Tribulation Force, and ultimately of God himself, neither Rayford’s head nor heart accepted that.
Yet with his conflicting emotions and turmoil of spirit, Rayford was as grateful for Mac’s conversion as he had been for his own, for Chloe’s, and for Bucks’. And the timing of God’s choosing to put His mark on His own! Rayford would be eager to get Tsion Ben input on that.
It was late Wednesday evening in New Babylon. Rayford and Mac had been working side-by-side all day. Rayford had told him the whole story of the Tribulation Force and each of their accounts of their own conversions. Mac seemed especially intrigued that God had provided them a pastor/teacher/mentor from the beginning in Bruce Barnes. And then, following Bruce’s death, God sent a new spiritual leader with even more biblical expertise.
“God has proven personal to us, Mac,” Rayford said. “He doesn’t always answer our prayers the way we think he will, but we’ve learned he knows best. And we have to be careful not to think that everything we feel deeply is necessarily true.
“I don’t follow,” Mac said.
“For instance, I can’t shake the feeling that Amanda is still alive. But I can’t swear that is from God.” Rayford hesitated, suddenly overcome. “I want to be sure that if it turns out I’m wrong, I don’t hold it against God.”
Rayford has now discovered, much to his joy, that his helicopter pilot friend, Mac MacCullum, has become a Christian. Rayford has been told two different things about his wife, Amanda. Carpathia (the Antichrist) has told him that Amanda was killed in a plane crash. But Carpathia told Mac that Amanda has been working for him as a spy since before all the time she’s been married to Rayford. Meanwhile, Buck is still searching hard for his wife, Chloe. He has been told by a doctor that Chloe was badly injured and that she is in a hospital in Minnesota. He has also been told by the doctor that it is next to impossible to drive to Minnesota with all the torn up roads and highways and the jammed traffic between Chicago and there. Ray picks the story up at this point.
Rayford has shared everything he could tell Mac about how to become a Christian. He has shared how the Bible predicted everything going on during the tribulation. After all that sharing, Rayford was hoping that Mac would receive Christ. But he didn’t, at least not to Rayford’s knowledge. Now Rayford is worried that he might have told Mac too much and that Mac might be fully serving Carpathia, the Antichrist. If Mac is doing that then Rayford’s life would be in serious danger. Meanwhile, Buck is waiting in a relief tent for Mrs. Cavanaugh to wake up. Buck knows that Mrs. Cavanaugh was the last person to see Chloe, Buck’s wife. He wants to find out from her all that he can that might lead him to Chloe. Ray picks this story up at this point.
The Showdown: Chs. 8,9,&10 – Reunion, Accused, The Showdown
Suddenly a smudge mark is showing up on the forehead of every Christian. It is a mark given by God. Judd’s new friend, Pete, used to be a biker riding in a pack. Now that he is a Christian, Pete is going to go back to them and try to lead them to Christ. Vicki, Darrion, and Shelly, have just watched a television newscast from the Antichrist (Nicolae Carpathia) where his best friend, Leon Fortunato, claims that he has been brought back from the dead by Carpathia. The girls see right through that claim, but those at the Global Center who also watched Fortunato’s story are thrilled. Judd is looking for his friends. Lionel still has amnesia and with his friend Chad are part of Carpathia’s “morale monitors” but Chad is realizing Carpathia is a phony. Lionel and Chad are in the midst of flying back to Chicago. Ray picks the story up at this point and as an extra treat will be reading three chapters right now.
The Showdown: Chs. 8,9,&10 – Reunion, Accused, The Showdown
Buck Williams has freed Rabbi Ben Judah from the rubble that once was New Hope Village Church and is now searching frantically for his wife, Chloe. Meanwhile, Rayford has rescued many passengers from a British Airways flight that had been endangered by God’s earthquake. Now he has begun riding with Mac McCullum in Mac’s helicopter to the safehouse where Carpathia, the Antichrist, is at this moment. Rayford gave up the search for his wife, Amanda, and Hattie Durham. They were impossible to find at the totally demolished Baghdad airport. Ray picks the story up from there.
Earthquake: Chs. 7&8 – Helping Pete, Ryan’s Bad News
The Young Tribulation Force have been scattered by God’s earthquake, followed by His meteor shower. Ryan appears to be rescued from drowning in his basement. But at this point, we have no idea who the men were who rescued him. Vicki, who was nearly killed, has walked for hours afterward to get to where she thinks she will find Ryan. Judd has been helped by a farmer and his wife who discovered he was a Christian. The farmer would have shot him otherwise. Instead, the two gave Judd new clothes so that he could get out of the detention centers orange jumpsuit. He too has begun walking toward where he and his friends lived, many miles from there. Lionel has been in a hospital bed and can’t even remember his name after being struck during the earthquake. He is now being released by a doctor who thinks that he and his new friend, Chad, will be a part of the Antichrist’s “morale monitors” – a worldwide army of teenagers who are supposed to arrest or kill Christians. Chaya appears to be dying with a collapsed lung from something that hit her during the earthquake. She is spending what may be her last breaths witnessing to her unsaved Jewish father who doesn’t want to hear about Christ.
Earthquake: Chs. 7&8 – Helping Pete, Ryan’s Bad News
God’s worldwide earthquake predicted in the book of Revelation has struck the planet. Millions die. Rayford’s friend flies a helicopter on top of Carpathia’s luxurious building in New Babylon so that Rayford can flee. But Carpathia, the Antichrist, pushes his way into the helicopter too and slams the door shut, leaving all of his friends and employees to be killed as the building collapses. Rayford, who has been Carpathia’s pilot because the Lord has ordered him to be, is furious. When they land in Baghdad, Rayford shoves Carpathian out of the copter and then shoves him again. He walks away in desperation to find his wife, Amanda, and his friend Hattie Durham, knowing full well that both may have also been killed during the earthquake. Meanwhile, in Chicago, New Hope Village Church has been reduced to rubble and Loretta, the secretary at New Hope has been killed. …Don’t miss the first chapter of Ray reading Soul Harvest: The World Takes Sides, which he will be reading right now.
Rayford Steele wore the uniform of the enemy of his soul, and he hated himself for it. He strode through Iraqi sand toward Baghdad Airport in his dress blues and was struck by the incongruity of it all.
From across the parched plain he heard the wails and screams of hundreds he wouldn’t begin to be able to help. Any prayer of finding his wife alive depended on how quickly he could get to her. But there was no quick here. Only sand. And what about Chloe and buck in the States? And Tsion?
Desperate, frantic, mad with frustration, he ripped off his natty waistcoat with its yellow braid, heavy epaulettes, and arm patches that identified a senior officer of the Global Community. Rayford did not take the time to unfasten the solid-gold buttons but sent them popping across the desert floor. He let the tailored jacket slide from his shoulders and clutched the collar in his fists. Three, four, five times he raised the garment over his head and slammed it to the ground. Dust billowed and sand kicked up over his patent leather shoes.
Rayford considered abandoning all vestiges of his connection to Nicolae Carpathia’s regime, but his attention was drawn again to the luxuriously appointed arm patches. He tore at them, intending to rip them free, as if busting himself from his own rank in the service of the Antichrist. But the craftsmanship allowed not even a fingernail between the stitches, and Rayford slammed the coat to the ground one more time. He stepped and booted it like an extra point, finally aware of what had made it heavier. His phone was in the pocket.
Buck Williams has written an article in the Global Community Weekly that has gone viral. It would appear that his days at the newspaper will soon be terminated by the Antichrist. Meanwhile, Rayford Steele has not only conducted Pastor Bruce Barnes’ funeral but preached his Sunday morning sermon to a huge crowd that outlined what the Bible says will be the very next horrible events during the tribulation that they are going through. Both the Tribulation Force and the Young Tribulation Force are bracing themselves for a worldwide earthquake that will be devastating. Join Ray as he reads Chapter 18.
Verna Zee was threatening Buck Williams until Chloe, Buck’s wife, exposed a secret Verna wants shared with no one. She quickly backed down and agreed that she would say nothing about Buck or Christian Rabbi Ben Judah if Buck and Chloe would keep her secret. Meanwhile, Rayford, Amanda, and Chloe are worried about Hattie Durham and her safety. Hattie is pregnant with Carpathia’s (the Antichrist) baby. She has walked out on him because of his meanness to her, flown to America on the same plane with Rayford, and was last seen heading for Denver where her mother lives.
On the Run: Chs. 3 & 4 – Taking Flight, Loretta’s Story
Vicki met with Chloe later in the day. Chloe hobbled around on a cane, needing crutches but unable to manage them with her sprained wrist. Chloe brought Vicki up to date on the adult Tribulation Force. Buck’s coworker, Verna Zee, was back at the Global Community office and would return later that night.
“We need your advice about Darrion and Mrs. Stahley,” Vicki said. “Where do you think they should stay?”
“Here,” Chloe said. She told Vicki where to find a key in the kitchen. “Bring them over while we take Buck to Palwaukee Airport. Verna’s staying downstairs. You can put Mrs. Stahley and Darrion in the garage apartment. It’s not fancy, but no one will find them.”
“What about Loretta?” Vicki said. “She’ll need to know.”
“I’ll tell Loretta,” Chloe said. “You stay with them and bring whatever they need. I’ll have Loretta say you’re trying to get over Bruce’s death and you need a little privacy.”
“That wouldn’t be far from the truth,” Vicki said.
On the Run: Chs. 3 & 4 – Taking Flight, Loretta’s Story
Buck still doesn’t understand what the two witnesses at the Wailing Wall were saying. He is desperately trying to find where Christian Rabbi Ben Judah is hiding. He wants to take him back to the United States and keep him safe since his entire family reportedly has been murdered. He is going to the Wailing Wall at midnight and hopes to talk with the two witnesses again. Meanwhile, Rayford has had dinner with Hattie Durham and she says she is being treated terribly by Carpathia (the Antichrist) even though she is engaged to him and pregnant with his baby. She wants to fly back to the United States and get away from him.
The intercom summoned Rayford to the front door of his condominium, where Hattie’s driver waited. He led Rayford to the white stretch Mercedes and opened the back door. There was room on the seat next to Hattie but Rayford chose to sit across from her. She had honored his request not to dress up, but even casually attired, she looked lovely. He decided not to say so.
Trouble was etched on her face. “I really appreciate your agreeing to see me.”
“Sure. What’s up?”
Hattie glanced toward the drive. “Let’s talk at dinner,” she said. “The Bistro OK?”
