by Goodwin,Mark
“Amen?” Courtney looked up and smiled at him.
He closed his eyes again. “Oh yeah, amen.”
“Okay, so if you think it’s the right thing to do, invite them to come up. Do you think they’ll trust us? And do you think they’ll leave their compound to come here?” Courtney cut her pancake and took a bite.
“I’m sure they trust us. We’ve been feeding them information, and they’ve been acting on it. As far as why they would leave their compound, they can’t be sure that their position wasn’t compromised when Thinthread was captured.”
Courtney finished chewing. “I thought Thinthread was taken in the rapture.”
“They’re pretty sure that he was, but who knows how much information could have been extracted from him in the time between him being captured by the Global Republic and when he disappeared.”
Courtney nodded as she sipped her coffee. “I hope it works out. And I hope we can get along with them. But you’re right, we’ll have a hard time surviving on our own. Should you run the idea by Elijah, maybe get his input before calling them?”
Everett nodded. “That’s a good idea. I have to borrow some electrical tape from Elijah so I can get the cut wires repaired before I can use the ham radio anyway. How are your pancakes?”
“Great, thanks. We had roughly a years’ worth of food when it was Ken and Lisa. Theoretically, we’d be in the same position if Mr. Black and Ms. White come up here. But they should have some supplies also, right?
Everett sipped his coffee. “They should, but fuel is tight. We’ll have to see. Anyway, we shouldn’t count our chickens before they hatch. We’ll have to wait to hear what they have to say. And Ms. White’s name is Sarah.”
“Sarah, that’s a nice name. She’s probably a sweet person.”
Everett tilted his head to one side. “Black said she was training the women to fight when the disappearances happened. I’m guessing she is ex-military. She might be a tough cookie.”
“A person can be tough and sweet. I’m living proof of that.”
Everett laughed. “Yes, you are.”
“We can make our stockpile last. Elijah is teaching us to farm in the mountains, we’ve been blessed with a lot of wild game. Even though it’s thinning out, we can kill as much as possible, and make jerky, while it’s still available.”
Everett nodded. “Spring is right around the corner. We should be able to find wild blackberries, ramps, mushrooms, and dandelion.”
“Did you say ramps?” Courtney looked curious.
“Yeah, they’re wild greens that grow in the mountains. They kind of look like tulip leaves with reddish colored stems; sort of a garlic smell and flavor. You can cut them up and sauté them or eat them with eggs.”
“Sounds good.” Courtney stood to clear the table.
Everett got up to help. “Why don’t you let me clean up and you spend a little time reading the Bible. I can’t tell you how much I got out of it.”
She kissed him. “I’m glad I married you, Everett Carroll.”
Everett cleaned up the dishes from breakfast then walked out back and mapped out his trench to bring water from the stream closer to the house. He sighed. “I just don’t have the energy for this.” The previous day had been one of the most draining of his life. The mental and emotional toll of dealing with Ken and Lisa’s disappearance, realizing he’d been wrong about God, getting married, and then being in a firefight was more than he’d ever had to deal with at once. Everett sat down on the wood pile and took a deep breath. “I think I’ll deal with the trench tomorrow.”
“Hey, sleepy head.” Courtney gave Everett a gentle nudge.
Everett yawned and stretched out on the living room couch. “How long was I out?”
“Maybe an hour. I told Elijah we’d be at his house by two.”
“And what time is it now?”
“Two-thirty, we’re late. Sorry, I lost track of time.”
Everett sat up. “Okay, I’ll be ready in a few minutes. We should carry a backpack with some extra magazines and ammo in case we get hit again. And we should both have a rifle and a pistol.”
“I agree. And, I won’t be wearing heels and a dress, so I’ll be much better backup.” Courtney winked and headed toward the ladder to the loft.
“You’ll never be in a James Bond movie with that attitude.” Everett followed her up the ladder. He opened the safe and retrieved four magazines for the folding stock HK G36C that John Jones had left at the cabin. He placed the mags in his pack, placed two spare magazines for his pistol in his back pocket then grabbed the HK rifle.
Courtney topped off the magazine in her Ruger Mini 14. “If you ever think of a Bond girl that you want to trade me in for, just let me know.”
Everett smiled as he watched her replace the magazine and rack the chamber. “There’s no one in the world I’d rather be with.”
She grinned as she closed the safe and spun the combination dial.
They locked up the house then the two of them headed up to Elijah’s on foot, because it increased their odds of seeing a deer, it conserved fuel, and it was a beautiful sunny day for a walk.
Everett knocked on the door when they arrived.
“Come in!” Elijah held the door for them.
“Sorry we’re a little late.” A heavenly smell wafted Everett in the face as he entered. “Wow! What do I smell?”
“Pizza!”
“You’re kidding!” Courtney exclaimed.
“Yes, yes, I know. It doesn’t sound like the proper thing to serve for a wedding reception, but wait til you try it. It’s no ordinary pizza.” Elijah led the way to the kitchen.
“That’s not what I meant. I’m astounded that you’ve managed to make pizza. You never cease to amaze me.” Courtney followed the old man.
“What’s going on in the sink” Everett took a close look at the array of pans and ingredients.
“I used the last of my goat cheese on the pesto pizza, so I was making another batch.”
“How do you make goat cheese?” Courtney was excited.
“Simple. Bring your milk to a gentle boil, pour in a half cup of apple cider vinegar and stir until the curds come together. Strain it through a cheese cloth and colander if you have it, otherwise a clean towel will work just fine. Squeeze out the water, and you have cheese. And you can flavor it if you like. This one is going to be rosemary goat cheese. My rosemary is doing very well in the greenhouse.”
Everett watched as the old hermit mixed the rosemary into the strained curds. He pressed the cheese into a clean empty can using a slightly smaller can to pack it. “That’s amazing.”
Courtney looked at the pizza on the table. “Did you make your own pesto? Don’t tell me you shelled out all those little pine nuts from the pine cones in the forest.”
Elijah put plates and a pitcher of his sweet herb tea on the table next to the pizza. “I’m afraid you’ve overestimated my patience. I actually used walnuts instead of pine nuts for the pesto. Most people won’t know if you don’t tell them. Come now, let’s eat.”
They all took a seat at the table and Elijah asked God to bless the meal as well as the conversation.
Courtney took a slice of pizza. “Wild mushrooms?”
“Semi-wild. I actually cultivate them in the crawl space beneath the house.”
Everett finished chewing, and then explained their reasoning and plan to invite Mr. Black and Sarah to come live with them.
“It’s a fantastic idea,” Elijah said. “The two of you would certainly be welcome to come stay here for mutual security, but as I said before, when it’s time for me to go, I have to leave right away.”
Courtney wiped the corner of her mouth. “Where exactly do you have to go?”
Elijah shrugged. “Jerusalem, eventually, but who knows what I’ll be sent to do before that.”
“Pardon my curiosity and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to or can’t, but what will you be doing?” she asked.
�
��Pronouncing judgement, standing witness to the wickedness of this present age, and delivering God’s final plea for the inhabitants of the earth to repent.”
Everett looked at Courtney, and then at Elijah. He was having trouble comprehending Elijah’s job description. “So, sort of like an evangelist? A preacher or something?”
Elijah chuckled as he took a sip of his tea. “Prophet would be more accurate.”
Courtney said, “We started reading the Bible, but we’ve been reading John and Romans, and haven’t gotten to the part about the tribulation. That’s all in Revelation, right?”
“Much of the tribulation is in Revelation. But to fully understand the time of the end, you would need to study Daniel, Matthew 24, and Luke 21, primarily, but clues are sprinkled throughout all the Scriptures; particularly the Books of Prophecy and Paul’s writings.”
Everett nodded. “Yeah, you lost both of us there.”
“Could you just give us a brief synopsis of what we’re looking at, and maybe some kind of a timeline?”
Elijah sighed. “I can try. Let me know if I’m moving too fast or if you need some clarification on something. Believe it or not, all has not been fully revealed even to me. I would always have such a good laugh listening to the various Bible teachers over the radio who thought they had it all figured out.
“In chapter 9, Daniel writes of seventy weeks, or 70 seven-year periods. We know they are literal seven-year periods, because the first sixty-nine weeks predicted the precise amount of time from the order to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah rode into the city before Passover to be sacrificed as our Passover lamb.
“The final week, or seven-year period was never completed, but Daniel tells us that it will be marked by a final prince that shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, or for seven years. I believe the final seven-year period began when Luz made the agreement for the Global Republic Charter.
“The trouble of this seven-year period is explained in Revelation. Beginning in chapter 6, we read of the first of seven seals being broken by the Lamb of God. The first seal unleashes a white horse, which represents the Antichrist, Angelo Luz. The second horse is red, representing war, which takes peace from the earth. We’ve already seen much fighting and violence, but I expect we will see even more as the Global Republic pushes to dominate the globe; particularly if China and Russia continue to resist being signatories on the GR charter. The third horse is black, representing famine and want. John says that when the third seal is broken and the black horse is revealed he hears a voice saying, ‘A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny.’ The famine is due both to scarcity of food and a hyperinflationary collapse of global currencies. A measure of wheat for a penny may sound like a good deal, but the Greek word which has been translated as penny in that verse is denarius, which was a silver coin representing a day’s wages for a common labor. Let’s say its modern pre-crash equivalent was around $100. You would be purchasing a measure, or just under a quart of wheat for around $100.”
Courtney pursed her lips. “Suddenly, it’s not such a bargain.”
Elijah lifted his eyebrows. “We’ve already seen the collapse of the monetary system, but I believe the black horse will become a darker omen as the famine intensifies; secondary effects of the other judgments coming upon the earth will greatly inhibit food production and distribution.”
“Like which other judgements?” Courtney asked.
“Massive earthquakes; they will disrupt infrastructure and the ability to move goods. The great darkness coming upon the earth. A reduction in sunlight from the volcanic ash after the quakes and the atmospheric steam and debris from the comet Wormwood will hamper farmers’ abilities to produce food, which by the way is why you must do all that you can to acquire as much food as possible while you still have the chance.”
“A comet? The earth is getting hit by a comet? The Global Republic isn’t saying anything about a comet.” Everett put his pizza down as he listened.
“Why would they? To create mass hysteria that will ruin their message of peace and love?” Elijah laughed. “They won’t tell of it. But you can be sure they know. Mount Graham, the observatory where they supposedly made contact with the Watchers has a binocular telescope named LUCIFER. They know exactly when Wormwood is due to hit.”
Courtney ran her hands through her hair. “Elijah, be honest, do we have any chance at all of surviving the next seven years?’
Elijah smiled and reached across the table to put his hand on hers. “Child, with God, all things are possible.”
Everett saw that Courtney was getting very upset. He was feeling anxious and his heart was beating fast as well. “So maybe we should just focus on the next major event that we have to survive. I don’t think I can handle it all at once.”
Elijah nodded. “Yes, of course. The fourth seal unleashes the pale horse. I believe he represents the massive plagues we’ve seen across Africa, Asia and the US. We may see more typhoid outbreaks, more Ebola, possibly other strains.
“Next is the fifth seal. Rather than some terrible plague, the fifth seal is distinguished by the voices of the martyrs, crying out from beneath the altar. They are calling out for justice and asking how much longer until God will avenge their deaths. They are told that it will be just a little while longer and they must rest until the remainder of their brethren who are to die, have been slain.”
“So, what does that mean for us?” Everett asked apprehensively.
Elijah sipped his tea, pausing as if to collect his thoughts. “I suspect the fifth seal will be broken as the great persecution breaks out against your brothers and sisters in the faith. Luz has declared an amnesty until March 15th. After that, he has vowed to not tolerate anyone who will not take the pledge to the Global Republic. Those who refuse to take the Mark will not only be excluded from the world’s singular means of payment, but they will also be in violation of Global law.”
“March 15th? You think the fifth seal will be broken on that exact day?” Courtney inquired.
Elijah stroked his grey beard as he answered. “It’s hard to say for sure, but I don’t believe that would be too much of a stretch.”
Courtney was quick to launch her next question. “If we can say, with some minor degree of certainty that the fifth seal will be opened on, or around March 15th, could we then estimate the timing of subsequent events or judgements?”
Elijah sighed. “If you were keeping a checklist to mark off the progression of the Great Tribulation and the events that must be endured to reach the Kingdom Age, perhaps it would serve that purpose. But you can’t say that because the fifth seal was broken on the 15th that the sixth seal would be opened on the 20th. There’s no set time periods, other than Luz’s appointment to end the daily sacrifice and exalt himself as God.”
“And we’ve got three and a half years on that one. From the agreement of the GR Charter,” Elijah explained.
“Is there a sixth seal?” Courtney asked.
Elijah answered, “Yes. There are seven. Seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials of God’s wrath.”
Everett felt the uneasiness arising inside again. “Vials of wrath, that doesn’t sound good. Maybe you can just tell us what the sixth seal is. I don’t want to get too far into the future, fretting vials of wrath that I probably won’t live to see anyway.”
Courtney took a deep breath and held Everett’s hand as the she listened for Elijah’s reply.
The old prophet pushed his plate to the side and leaned his forearms on the table. “Okay, the sixth seal. We’ll talk about that and leave the rest for another day.
“When the Lamb opens the sixth seal, the earth will have the greatest earthquake in history, moving every island and mountain from its place. I expect every tectonic plate to shift in this massive seismic event. The sudden and substantial movement of the earth’s crust will also trigger unprecedented volcanic activity which will send up an ash cloud covering the entire earth. This is the event
you need to focus on the most for the time being. And avoiding the Global Republic, of course.”
“But the Appalachian chain isn’t on any major faults or seismic zones. We won’t feel a quake here,” Courtney said.
“This section of the Appalachians is not on a fault, which is why I’m on this mountain, but the whole world will feel it. Where we are now, is in the blue zone, the second lowest color code on the USGS hazard map. That is not true for all of the Appalachians. In fact, the East Tennessee Seismic Zone is a red zone, the second highest rating on the USGS hazard map, and is right in the heart of the Appalachians. While not nearly so bad as the New Madrid Seismic Zone in Western Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas, it won’t be a good place to ride out the sixth seal.”
“That’s where Mr. Black and his girlfriend, Sarah, live,” Courtney said.
Elijah sipped his tea. “Then, you’ll have an additional selling point when trying to convince them to move up here.
“This will be an unprecedented geological event. No recorded data exists on the effects of a global quake.”
Everett took another deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. “What can we do to prepare for such an event?”
Elijah sat back in his chair. “Fortunately, we are in a relatively safe zone. Another thing that we have going for us is that we live in log homes. Wood tends to give more in a quake than some other types of construction. Brick for instance, is terrible in a quake. The mortar in between the bricks just turns to powder in a quake. Still, when the quake comes, you want to get outside as fast as possible. And know where you are going to go ahead of time. Those rocks Everett used yesterday for cover in his attack are great for a gun fight, but bad for an earthquake. You do not want to go in that direction when the quake hits. Wherever you choose to go, make sure there are no large rocks above that can come rolling down on you. Probably the direction of the road is your best bet. It is cleared on both sides for the pavement, so there isn’t much that can come tumbling down. If you do see something falling in your direction, you have a clear path to move out of the way.”
