Arrived (42 page)

“If I'm right, they'll have moved past it, but if not, I know a place where we'll be safe.”

Lionel wanted to go to the tech center to see the latest from Chang on Jewish conversions and hear any word from Judd and Vicki, but the stream of people climbing up the side of the mountain changed that. Thousands made their way to the top of a mount overlooking the valley.

“Where's everyone going?” Lionel asked an elderly man who had stopped to catch his breath.

The man pointed up. “The elders … they asked us to stay in our groups … one hundred groups of a thousand. … We'll be going up to the north, over there.”

Sam got on one side of the man, Lionel on the other, and they helped him keep up with the others. Lionel was amazed at how orderly everyone was. No one pushed or shoved.

When they reached the top, they helped the man find his place and moved to the edge of the mount. The view of the cross and the Global Community troops was incredible.

“Carpathia's supposed to be out there somewhere,” Sam said. “They should be attacking pretty soon.”

“Bring it on,” Lionel said. “Just means Jesus will come that much sooner.”

Conrad and Charlie joined the others gathered in Enoch's backyard. The man usually didn't go outside during the day, but no one seemed afraid. Everyone focused on the sky, wanting to know if they could tell when Jesus returned.

Enoch kept his voice low. “Well, the Bible says the whole world will know when he comes. Revelation 1:7 says, ‘Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him—even those who pierced him.' ”

“How's he gonna 'complish that?” a young man said. “Holy Land's on the other side of the world.”

“Don't you think they're seeing what we're seeing now?” Enoch said.

“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,” Darrion said.

“How's that?” Enoch said.

“God can do what he wants, right?” she said.

And they all chimed in, some asking questions, others nodding or saying, “Amen.”

“He could put ten crosses in the sky to make sure everybody sees one,” someone said.

“But there's only one Jesus,” another said.

“Yeah, but he can show up anywhere he wants 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?” Charlie said.

“I'm afraid he is. If they're working for the Antichrist, they're in serious trouble.”

Judd noticed signs for a hospital and a university as he followed Ehud and Vicki toward Mount Scopus. He hoped they would make it to the top before the return of Christ.

He wondered about his friends—Jamal, Lina, and the others he had come to know over the past few months. Had they all been killed? Would he see them again? He pushed the thoughts from his mind and kept going.

“Stop, rebels!” someone yelled behind them.

Judd turned, catching a glimpse of a Unity Army patrol. They rode in an uncovered vehicle, and a soldier aimed a gun at them.

Judd shielded Vicki, and Ehud put up his hands. “You guys run,” Judd whispered.

The vehicle drove closer.

“Don't you remember our promise?” Vicki said. “We stick together.”

“I'm with you two,” Ehud said.

A soldier threw a cigarette on the ground and cursed. “Let's kill them now and get it over with.”

“You know our orders,” another said.

“Yes, but who's going to know?” the first said. “Just three more heads to chop off later.”

A tall man bounded from the vehicle and motioned to the others. “Load them up.”

“Where are you taking us?” Judd said as he jumped into the back of the vehicle.

“To the Temple Mount,” a soldier said. “You can watch the rest of the rebels die.”

As the vehicle pulled out, Judd looked at the pulsing cross in the sky. “Come, Lord Jesus,” he whispered.

41

JUDD
thought the Unity soldier might be lying to them about going to the Temple Mount, but that's where they were taken. Along the way, citizens came out of their homes to applaud the soldiers.

They passed several makeshift jails—some inside buildings, others inside barbed-wire fences. It was to one of these outside holding areas that Judd and Vicki were taken. Soldiers took Ehud inside a row of buildings.

“The King is coming!” Ehud shouted as he was led away. “I'll see you when he returns.”

Screams came from inside the buildings.

“What is that place?” Vicki said.

Before Judd could answer, a woman behind them spoke. “That's where they torture us, trying to get information about rebels inside the Temple.”

The woman, who did not have the mark of the believer, told them about the battles she'd been in and how valiantly the rebels had fought, even against overwhelming odds.

Vicki looked at Judd, and he winked at her. They were thinking the same thing. God had brought them here to reach out to people before the return of Christ.

Lionel stared at the sky and noticed movement on a ledge above. Chaim Rosenzweig and the elders stood where most of the remnant could see them.

“Brothers and sisters in the Messiah,” Chaim said. “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 suddenly and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.' Revelation 19:15 says that ‘from his mouth came a sharp sword, and with it he struck down the nations.' And Revelation 19:21 says the army ‘was killed by the sharp sword that came out of the mouth of the one riding the white 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 full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.'

“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.”

Lionel felt chills as a million people cheered and applauded. With the cross in the sky, God's remnant around him, and the enemy collected in the valley, Lionel couldn't help but feel the emotion. When someone began singing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” he could barely choke out the words.

As the song echoed down the mountainside, Lionel noticed a motorcade thundering toward them across the desert. Jets screamed overhead, and it looked like Carpathia was ready for the attack.

A Humvee pulled up a steep slope, and someone got out. A light flashed on the man who drew his sword and raised it above his head.

“That's gotta be Carpathia,” Sam said.

Singing stopped and everyone looked down on the showy sight. The remnant reacted strongly when Nicolae said, “If there really is a God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and if he truly has a Son worthy of facing me in combat, I shall destroy him too!”

People gasped.

Nicolae challenged God, daring him to come against his army. It was insane, and yet Carpathia continued. “Be prepared to advance upon Petra on my command. Leave no man, woman, or child alive. The victory is mine, says your living lord and risen king!”

“Let's pray,” someone said near Lionel. He bowed his head and prayed. “God, you are the supreme ruler, and you've promised to return and defeat your enemies. I pray you would do that right now.”

A murmur of voices rose against the rock walls. Prayers of a million people floated in the air as people joined hands and cried out to God.

Then, with a loud scream, Carpathia ordered his troops to attack. The army surged toward the hill below Lionel and the others. Jet engines roared overhead. Machine guns rattled, cannons fired, grenades and rockets launched, and the remnant in Petra simply stared.

Seconds after the attack came, the pulsing cross in the sky disappeared. Darkness covered the land. A strange clacking sound drifted up from the desert, and Lionel realized the GC's weapons weren't firing. No light came from vehicles or flash-lights.

Thousands around Lionel whispered prayers, pleading for Jesus to return.