by Irvin Baxter
As the bowed heads raised, you could almost see the change taking place in the hearts of the men in the room. The Prime Minister stood. “Thank you, Rabbi. Every word you prayed was true. Your prayer may have been the most important thing on our agenda today.”
When it was time for discussions to begin, you could see the wheels turning in the great minds sitting around the conference table. Eyes moved from one man to the other. Thoughts raced. How did we get to where we are?
There was Simon Sheves, the elder statesman. Every person in the room knew that he truly loved Israel. He had given his life to the service of the country. Yet now it was obvious that his dovish views had been terribly misguided. Even as this meeting began, Israeli soldiers were paying a terrible price for every inch of ground that Sheves’ policies had advocated giving away.
Across from Sheves sat Yoni Natanya. It was Yoni who had cut the legs out from under the Likud, the party that stood against territorial compromise. Not only did Natanya fulfill the Oslo Accords, but he also negotiated the Wye Agreement, which ultimately brought the horrible slaughter down upon the heads of the Judean settlers.
Then there was Ramon, the man who had inadvertently shocked the nation of Israel back to her senses. Ramon had offered to re-divide Jerusalem and even surrender sovereignty over the Temple Mount. The people of Israel couldn’t believe that any Israeli Prime Minister would offer to surrender forever their holiest place, the Temple Mount. Even harder to believe was that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had turned down Ramon’s offer. That’s when the Israelis knew that nothing short of the destruction of their nation would satisfy the Palestinians.
Finally, Shomron the bulldozer. He was the man whom Israel turned to when nothing else worked. It was Shomron who assumed the southern command when Israel teetered on the brink of defeat in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. He had been brought out of forced retirement when the magnitude of Israel’s disaster became apparent. His bold maneuver across the Suez Canal, encircling Egypt’s army, put Israel back on the offensive where she fought best. As a result, Israel’s enemies were soon petitioning the UN to broker a cease-fire. Having fought in every war since 1948, he knew what Israel was facing better than any man in the room.
As the discussions began, Shomron sat quietly in his chair—listening, thinking, observing. Plan after plan was offered by those sitting around the table. Sheves suggested, “Get the United States to demand a cease-fire at the UN.”
Natanya, who had served as Israel’s UN ambassador, shook his head slowly. “It won’t work. It’s the UN we are fighting. They’re winning, so they have no reason to want a cease-fire.”
Forever the strategist, Ramon suggested, “Can we cross into Jordan in order to encircle the Global Forces, cutting their lines of supply?”
Eyes swung to the Defense Minister. “Can it be done?”
“It’s impossible. We are fighting for our very lives. We don’t have one unit to spare. Gentlemen, the situation is that our nation will make its last stand tomorrow.” The Defense Minister’s words drove home like a sixteen-pound sledgehammer. Israel’s back was against the wall.
You could almost see the thoughts racing through each mind. What if we lose? Are we on the brink of another Masada? Worst yet, could Israel be headed for another holocaust? Israelis had hoped those days were over forever. However, recent actions by the World Community had jarred every Israeli back to reality. Yes, this world was still capable of marching Jews to gas chambers. The ruthless slaughter that Israel had suffered over the last few days provided indisputable proof of that fact to every person in the room.
There were only black clouds on the horizon. It seemed there was no help anywhere. As eyes slid searchingly from man to man, it suddenly dawned on everyone present that Abba Shomron had not said a word.
The night before Shomron had sat staring into his fireplace till the wee hours of the morning. He had turned every possible battlefield scenario over and over in his mind. One by one, he rejected them. He believed that Israel had the finest armed forces on the face of the earth, but attempting to take on the entire world was asking them to do the impossible. By 4 o’clock in the morning, Shomron had been able to come up with only one answer.
The Prime Minister turned to Shomron. “Abba, what do you think? What can we do?”
The reply came without hesitation. “The Samson Option.”
The impact of Shomron’s words hit every man right in the gut! A deadly silence filled the room. Finally, Sheves broke the silence. “Abba, you think our only option is to go nuclear? You’re talking about the point of no return!”
Shomron’s reply was immediate. “We are already at the point of no return, Simon. Do you remember what you were thinking when you convinced the French to sell us the Dimona nuclear reactor? None of us wanted to be a nuclear power! But all of us had learned through four thousand years of Jewish history that this day would probably come. That’s why you played every card in your hand to obtain nuclear weapons for Israel. You may yet prove to be the savior of our nation, Simon.”
Israel had never officially acknowledged to the world that she possessed nuclear weapons. However, she had said that, if Israel did have nuclear capability, those weapons would be used only if the nation’s existence was in danger.
When Israel’s legendary judge Samson died, he took the house of the Philistine lords down with him. Thus, it had just seemed appropriate that Israel’s nuclear capability should bear the same name—“The Samson Option.”
Every man in that room had hoped this day would never come. But all of them knew that Abba Shomron had forced them to face the truth. The only choice they had was “The Samson Option.”
Chapter 29
Arachev had been certain that eliminating the two leaders of the Bible believers’ movement would take the steam right out of the surging religious awakening. Instead, it did the exact opposite.
The morning after Cornell and Freeman had been killed, the Internet Police brought the intercepted messages that were being sent around the world by the Endtimers. Arachev did not fully grasp the implications of what he was reading.
The messages went like this:
“The two prophets whom God sent to the earth for the endtime are dead. All of you know the prophecy about these two witnesses, found in Revelation 11:9-12: ‘And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.…And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.’
“True to this prophecy, Arachev has ordered that the bodies of Roger Cornell and David Freeman are to be left to rot in the streets. What Arachev doesn’t know is that they will, in fact, rise from the dead in three-and-a-half days. That’s also when the seventh and last trumpet sounds. It appears that we are three days away from the Second Coming. Whatever we are going to do for the cause of Jesus must be done in the next three days!”
The surging revival turned into a tidal wave! The Bible believers worked around the clock without sleep. There were more conversions in the next three days than had occurred in any year since the beginning of the Christian Church. It was estimated that ten million people were born again while their leaders lay dead on the Mount of Olives.
In the meantime, WNN carried its noon report concerning Cornell and Freeman each day. The cameras zoomed in on the dead bodies of the two preachers while government-hired demonstrators celebrated in the background. Around the world, those who had taken the mark of the beast were filled with elation. They would gather before the television at noon, and, when the images of Cornell and Freeman’s bodies came on the screen, they would cheer and rejoice because of this great victory for the New World Order. The hatred that these followers of Arachev had to
ward the two preachers was unearthly. As a matter of fact, it was demonic.
After Cornell and Freeman had been dead for two days, Suslov and Arachev sat together at world headquarters viewing the noon report of the two bodies on the Mount of Olives. “So much for their soon-coming kingdom of God now,” Arachev gloated as he watched the orchestrated celebrations taking place around the bodies of Cornell and Freeman. “Once the prophesied three days and a half pass with no resurrection, we’ll be done with these right-wing prophecy demagogues. Once that prophecy doesn’t come to pass, their followers will dissipate and fade into oblivion. Suslov, ’ol buddy, thanks to you I won’t have to worry about this end-time element anymore.”
Even while basking beneath Arachev’s rarely given praise, one thing haunted Suslov. The bodies of Cornell and Freeman were not swelling.
Chapter 30
Before taking the final, fateful step of activating the Samson Option, Prime Minister Yigal Alon decided to attempt reasoning with President Arachev one more time.
When Arachev answered the phone, it was obvious that he knew who was calling. Of course, that was no surprise in this day, when even the average citizen had global ID on his telephone. “Good morning, Mr. Prime Minister. What can I do for you?” The smugness in Arachev’s voice let Alon know that he was fully aware of Israel’s desperate military position. It also made Alon want to hang up on him! However, Alon knew that he could not allow his personal feelings to take control when Israel’s situation was so critical.
Alon willed his voice to be steady. “Mr. President, it is absolutely essential that an immediate cease-fire be called.”
“Why would we want to do that? In less than two days, our forces will have obtained their objectives. Why would we want to stop now?” Arachev’s voice sounded as though it were made of steel—cold, hard steel.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s voice trembled as he spoke. “Mr. Arachev, you are forcing me to make decisions that I don’t want to make. These decisions will have dreadful consequences for your forces and ours. We need to stop this conflict before everything spins totally out of control!”
“Mr. Prime Minister, perhaps things are spinning out of control for you, but I assure you that everything is perfectly under control on our side,” Arachev replied, sounding as cool as a cucumber. Then his voice became menacing. “I strongly advise you not to do anything stupid. We know your capabilities down to the dotting of the i and the crossing of the t. Your only course of action is to lay down your arms and bring your nation into full compliance with the resolutions of the international community.”
Alon took a deep breath and decided to try one more line of reasoning, “Mr. President, we in Israel always thought that you were our friend. Now it looks like you are determined to destroy our nation. Why are you doing this?”
Arachev’s answer came back without hesitation. It was obvious he had rehearsed his logic many times. “I tried to be a friend to Israel, but you would never blend into the World Community. You always had to be different. You think you are God’s chosen people, and that belief contaminates everything that you do. Whether you Jews admit it or not, you really think you are better than everyone else. When almost every nation on earth signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, you refused to sign it. When the United Nations voted 150-2 that Jerusalem was not Israel’s capital but an international city under UN protection, you refused to accept it. You think your religion is right and everyone else’s is wrong.
“This is a dangerous world we live in. We almost allowed it to be destroyed in the China conflict. The common good must now take precedence over everything. I am not going to allow any nation to defy the will of our world democracy—the United Nations.”
Alon’s reply was very measured. “Sir, you are asking us to do things that we just can’t do.”
“Mr. Prime Minister, you can do them. You are just not willing to do them,” Arachev shot back emphatically. “And since Israel is not willing to do what is necessary, we will take over your country and do it for you!”
When Alon hung up, it felt like there was lead in the pit of his stomach. Yet at the same time, he strangely felt a new resolution in his heart.
Israel’s Security Cabinet was to reconvene in about 15 minutes. When they entered the room, every person knew by the expression on Alon’s face the outcome of the Prime Minister’s conversation with the Global Leader.
Alon’s words were scarce and to the point. “Gentlemen, each of you know your role in implementing the Samson Option. Move quickly. It will be launched at the appropriate time tomorrow.” His words fell like a ton of bricks, even though every person there had expected to hear them.
Chairs scraped on the floor as each man rose to leave. The Prime Minister’s voice rang out, “One more moment, please. There’s something I have never done since becoming your leader three years ago, but I feel I should do it now. The reason Israel even exists is because of our God. Without Him, we really cannot justify the founding of the modern state of Israel. As your leader, I would like to lead you in prayer.”
The room fell silent, and Alon began, “Lord God, many of us in this room have witnessed the rebirth of the nation of Israel after almost two thousand years of exile. We all know that event was nothing short of a miracle. We have seen You do many other miraculous things in the short life of this young nation. It is obvious that we need You now, possibly, as we have never needed You before. We realize that we are at a juncture very much like the one when our forefathers crossed the Red Sea. They had to have divine intervention then, and we have to have it now. Lord, we as Israel’s leaders will do our best. But at the same time, we acknowledge that unless You help us, all our efforts will be in vain. We now ask for Your mercy and protection on the people of Israel.” The Prime Minister hesitated, and then concluded. “And one more thing, Lord God. We know that it is promised that our Messiah will come to save us. We humbly ask that He would come to us at this time, for You know better than we do how badly we need Him. Amen.”
Alon was surprised when he heard every voice around the table join in with his own “Amen.” He thought, This crisis is not only changing me; I think it’s changing our entire nation.
At 8 p.m. that evening, Prime Minister Alon spoke to the people of Israel. “My fellow countrymen, greetings. I spoke with President Arachev today, requesting a cease-fire in order to give diplomacy time to work. Mr. Arachev did not give a favorable response to my request. In fact, he expressed confidence that the military might of the World Community would force Israel’s surrender within the next two days.
“The Israeli Defense Forces have fought valiantly, as always. However, it has been an unprecedented challenge for us to face the might of the entire world. No Israeli army has ever been called upon to face such a daunting task. In spite of these formidable obstacles, we will not give up. The faith and the courage that brought our ancestors out of Egypt, out of Babylon, and out of Nazi Germany, yet live on in our hearts. We will not give up.
“Not only are the people of Israel a great people, but more importantly, the God of Israel is a mighty God. He is the only true God. He brought us out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, across the Jordan River, and in modern times has restored us to this land.
“We will not surrender to this Babylonian system of one-world government that has invaded our nation. In the words of King David, ‘Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.’
“My fellow citizens, I ask you this evening before you retire to pray unto the Lord God of Israel that He will intervene in our behalf at this hour. May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be with you. Good night.”
In every home in Israel that evening, prayer was made. Mothers gathered children around the bedside to pray for Daddy who was out facing the enemy with the Israeli army. Elderly men slipped down on their knees before sliding into bed. Most eyes were moistened with tears by the time they turned out the lights.
God saw w
hat was happening throughout Israel that night, and He heard their prayers. He looked down on the actions of President Arachev and the World Community, and His fury came up in His face.
Chapter 31
The grinding, relentless attack of the Global Forces started the assault on Jerusalem at the break of dawn. The Israeli fighters was more determined than ever to resist. Still, they found themselves slowly being driven back, step by torturous step. By noon, the forces of the World Community were two kilometers from the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Alon was in constant contact with Israeli Defense Minister Yael Arens. Alon knew that the moment of the fateful decision couldn’t be put off much longer. “Yael, what’s the situation?”
“Mr. Prime Minister, our men are fighting heroically. But it’s not enough. The odds are just too overwhelming! We could use a deliverer like Samson right now.”
Alon’s voice was as steady as an oak tree. “I’ll see if I can’t convince Samson to give you a hand.”
All the preparations had been made in advance. The soldier commissioned to signal the launching of the Samson Option was by the Prime Minister’s side. As soon as Alon hung up the phone, he gave one nod in the officer’s direction. The lid was lifted on the briefcase containing the nuclear codes. Within one minute, the necessary signals were entered, and the secret doors concealing over two hundred nuclear installations swung silently open. Seconds later, the sleek, slender missiles carrying their deadly payloads arched skyward.
