by Cliff Ball
The feed switched the Cohen’s office, with Cohen sitting at his desk, with Reynolds conducting the interview from the chair facing the desk. “Mr. President, the world wants an answer to the only question we’re all asking – will Israel surrender?”
“If it comes to that, no, we won’t. I’m confident that God will continue to protect us from the same bullies in the schoolyard that He’s always protected us from. No matter what happens, we will win in the end, as God and the prophets have foretold. I’m also confident that the Patriarch doesn’t have the complete backing of his other regional administrators,”
“Can you elaborate about the other administrators?”
“Sorry, not at this time. You’ll find out when the Patriarch finds out, which should be in the next few minutes or so, since his ego is too big to pass up this opportunity to bully me.” Cohen looked at his watch, “Mr. Reynolds, I do have pressing matters to attend to, so I’ll have to end the interview.”
“Uh, right, okay. This is Dan Reynolds, back to you at the studio.”
“Thanks, Dan. We now have another breaking news alert. Apparently, Administrator Eric McDougal of Australia has declared war on the Patriarch, with five other regions backing him, no word yet on which side the North American region will side with. According to reports from the field, Russia is being attacked by the Chinese and the Europeans, while the other traitors are beginning to attack the forces led by Russia. We’re getting one of our reporters in Australia to try to get an interview with McDougal so we can attempt to understand his mindset. The only statement we have so far is that they’re tired of the Patriarch not doing anything substantive about the disasters and being too distracted to actually bring peace, harmony, and unity to our planet. We’ll also get the Patriarch’s reaction to this, as he is set to speak to President Cohen. While we’re getting statements, we’ll go to commercial. Stay with us as we bring you the news of the day.”
While an interview was being setup with McDougal, Dan Reynolds and his cameraman caught on camera a clearly angry Patriarch emerging from the office of President Cohen, so Reynolds asked him, “Patriarch Karimi, can you tell us what’s going on?”
“What’s going on? Isn’t it obvious? I’ve been betrayed, while Israel dares to challenge me, by claiming they can beat my forces. Well, the betrayers will get what’s coming to them. I ordered Pavlich to nuke the capital cities of the six regions that have dared defy me. This war will end as quickly as it started, but I’ll still be in charge. No one defies me and gets away with it!”
Karimi turned away from Reynolds, walked out of the building, and got into his limo, which sped off. Reynolds looked baffled by what just happened, especially by the Patriarch saying he was going to nuke his own regional capitals. Reynolds did have the presence of mind to end his video feed and throw it back to the studio. Before UETN could even conduct the interview with Administrator McDougal, his capital of Sydney was wiped out by nuclear weapons, which also killed the administrator. Later on, video would show various angles of the nukes that hit the capital cities of the six defiant administrators, which killed millions in an instant.
In North America, no one had yet heard from Administrator Davis about the war and why he hadn’t joined either side. In Big Bend, Pete Robertson wondered aloud while working out alongside Josh Harrison in the group’s workout room, “I would think that butt-kisser would run to the Patriarch’s side and help him, I wonder why he hasn’t?”
“Yeah, Davis always seems to be the true believer in the Patriarch’s cause. If I could make a guess, maybe he didn’t want to lose his power over North America, so he decided to stay out of it. But, really, who knows?” replied Josh.
Janet Robertson came sprinting into the workout room, and said, “I think we’ll get our answer to why Administrator Davis didn’t participate in the war, because he’s about to appear on TV now.”
“Okay, let’s go watch.” replied Pete.
The group gathered around a forty-two-inch HD television as the local UETN broadcast interrupted programming to bring a special message from the Administrator Davis. When Davis appeared on screen, he was at his desk, looking very grave. He began, “Fellow citizens of North America, good afternoon. By now, you’ve heard of the terrible tragedies around the world as Patriarch Karimi had to deal with a rebellion by six of his administrators and the action the Patriarch took to put an end to it. You also saw how Israel took advantage of the situation and destroyed the armies of the Patriarch that was converging on Israel. Well, I’m sure you’re wondering why our region didn’t participate with either side.
“A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Administrator McDougal about joining him and the others in their illegal action, but I informed him that I would do no such thing. I told him I was completely loyal to the Patriarch and I thought such an action would make everything worse. As you can see, he didn’t listen. Now, you may be wondering why I didn’t order troops to assist the Patriarch. The answer to that question is simple – we don’t have enough people in this region to field an army and our resources are limited due to the continued clean-up from the Yellowstone volcano. I hope those of you who are loyal global citizens will understand my reasoning, since I wasn’t being disloyal to the Patriarch. I wish all of you peace and blessings.”
The message ended and the local UETN broadcast team reappeared to analyze what Davis said and what he might have meant. Pete said, “Well, that answers that question. The guy says he’s loyal, but instead, he’s a monumental coward. Anyway, I still don’t understand what Israel did to tick-off the Patriarch. I mean, I know he’s a dictator, but what did they ever do to him?”
“It has to do with Bible prophecy. We can help you understand, if you want to hear it,” replied Josh.
“I’m not quite ready just yet, can you give me time?”
“The day is quickly approaching when there’ll be no more time to decide which side you want to be on, Pete. We care about your soul and want you to be in Heaven with us when that time comes.”
“Yeah, I know. Just so you know, I haven’t rejected Christ, I’m just entirely sure yet how this all works. Give me time, okay?”
“Okay, we’ll not push, but it is between you and God on when you decide and you’ll have to answer to Him, not us. Remember that we’re here for you when you need us.”
“I know and thanks.” Pete left the group and went off to think. It would be a few more months before he made a decision.
The world was shocked when Israel defeated the Patriarch’s forces by nuking Babylon and its military forces, along with nuking Moscow and Cairo. The results caused the remaining military forces of the three regions to become in disarray, while Israel and the few remaining forces from the defiant regions mopped up. Hundreds of millions were killed in a day, but not one blamed the Patriarch, as his followers still defied and blasphemed God, blaming Israel and the two witnesses for everything that had happened so far.
“As we end this special broadcast, we here at UETN wonder what will happen next as the Patriarch ponders what to do next. Will he finally overcome the two men who preach their hatred and will Israel finally see the light and join the global community? What becomes of the six regions who dared defy their leader? In the coming days, we’re sure we’ll find out. We here at UETN wish you peace and blessings. Good night.”
Chapter 16
For the next few days, UETN showed the devastation wrought by the nukes and the civilian efforts of each region to clean up the mess, mostly of the dead, but no one attempted to enter the radioactive ruins of any of the cities. The millions of dead soldiers surrounding Israel were being buried by the Israeli’s, while the destroyed military equipment was taken away, to be reduced to spare parts or scrap. It was estimated by various experts that it would take more than six months to bury all the dead. Opinion polls showed that the overall global community was behind the Patriarch one hundred percent and would continue to follow him anywhere. However, except for Josten, no one had seen the
Patriarch in three days. His staff claimed he was mourning the dead and would reappear when the time was appropriate, for the time being though, the world must be patient.
Suddenly, another breaking news alert appeared on television, with High Priest Josten saying, “Greetings, citizens of the global community. Your Patriarch and I are about to rectify a problem that has been plaguing us for the last three and a half years, the two men known around Jerusalem as Elijah and Moses. You, the global community, have been asking us to rid the world of them, so the Patriarch and I have decided to finally act on your wishes. Whether you’re watching on television or webcam, you’ll not want to miss this must-see-TV. Follow me as we confront the two haters and put a stop to the nonsense.”
Josten ordered the camera operator to follow him and the Patriarch to record live what would happen next. A few minutes later, the Patriarch and the High Priest stood in front of Elijah and Moses. For many months, a crowd had usually surrounded the two men to either listen to them preach or to jeer everything they said. Early on in the two’s ministry, a few had tried physically threatening the two, but they defended themselves by shooting fire out of their mouths and consuming the threat. Now, the Patriarch’s security forces had cleared the area for the Patriarch.
Before Patriarch Karimi could say a word, Elijah spoke, “It is done. Do what you must.”
The camera operator recorded the conversation between Karimi and Josten wondering what Elijah meant. The Patriarch scratched at his chin, wondering what he should do next. So he asked, “You, the one known as Elijah, what do you mean by ‘it is done’?”
“You came here to kill us, correct?”
“That’s my intention,”
“Then you must do so, we will not try to stop you.”
On television, the Patriarch and High Priest looked perplexed, obviously not believing what they just heard from Elijah. “Am I to understand that you won’t shoot fire out of your mouths when I attempt to harm you?” Karimi asked.
“You understand correctly. Young man, do what you came here to do. Our ministry is finished; you’re free to do what you will.”
“Well, if you say so.” The Patriarch raised his gun and shot Elijah in the chest. He was dead before he hit the ground. Karimi chuckled, “Well, how ‘bout that, it actually worked. Why don’t you try it, Kevin?”
Kevin shrugged his shoulders, and replied, “All right, let’s see if this one falls dead too.” He shot Moses in the chest and he was dead before he hit the ground. “Cool, we’re finally rid of them. Let’s celebrate,”
“You know, that’s a good idea. We’ll send out a decree that everyone on Earth who follows me should treat this like a holiday and however they want to celebrate is entirely up to them.” The camera showed the Patriarch turning to his Patriarch Guards, but didn’t catch what he said to them.
The Patriarch took the High Priest aside, outside of the camera’s microphone range, and spoke to him about something. Karimi returned to face the camera, and said, “Citizens of the global community, I am issuing a decree. As of this minute, we are celebrating the end of these two men and their hateful message. Celebrate however you see fit, but if you come in person, I order that you do not touch either body. This is so we won’t have thief’s come in, take their bodies, and then claim they somehow resurrected. Anyone who even comes close to touching the bodies will be punished. Now, let the celebrations begin!”
All over the world, the celebrations were widely varied. Some gave gifts to each other as if it were Christmas. Some celebrated by flagrantly committing the sins the two preached against as a way of being defiant against God, thinking He would never punish them. Others wanted to see the bodies of the two men themselves, so they dropped what they were doing and headed for Jerusalem to see the dead men. Once they were there, they gloated over the fact that the Patriarch won over the haters, and after many alcoholic drinks, danced around the bodies, some clothed, some not. The Patriarch Guard had a hard time keeping the drunks from defiling the bodies, but they managed to keep people away.
Meanwhile, top politicians in the Knesset, Israel’s version of Congress, seeing the new power the Patriarch had since he rid the world of the two men, asked to speak with the Patriarch, and he granted them an audience. “What would you like to speak to me about?”
“We’d like to talk to you about absorbing Israel into the global community,” replied Prime Minister Eli Hoffman.
“I thought President Cohen made known that wouldn’t happen. After all, we did just fight a war over it,”
“Yes, yes, we know. However, Cohen no longer speaks for Israel, he just doesn’t know it yet. You have shown you’re the person we should be following, especially since you rid us of those two pests after three and a half long years of them preaching their hate. Our constituents are also demanding we join the global community. So, how can we make it happen?”
Karimi smiled, just four days ago, they were demanding he withdraw his armies from their borders. “I’m glad you’re interested. If you’re serious about joining the rest of your fellow citizens, then you need to accept our inclusive religion and accept the marks for commerce and loyalty. Do you think you and your people will do that? Because if you say they will and they don’t, many will be beheaded, including all of you, who will be first on the list,”
“A majority want it, Your Excellency. Those that don’t, will be hunted down and will be given the choice to follow or die. If you need me to, I’ll be the first of the people to take the marks.”
“That’s a good idea. Okay, let’s get the process started.”
For the next three days, the politicians of Israel eagerly lined up to take the marks, along with their families, and then the citizens of Israel who weren’t believers in Jesus began doing the same thing. To everyone but the political class, the resignation of David Cohen as President was shocking. The next day, with the exception of the priests of the Jewish faith, no one else who were proud citizens of the Union of United Earth batted an eye when the Patriarch entered the Jews’ temple and declared that everyone on Earth should begin to worship him as their god. When the Patriarch declared it mandatory for everyone to take all the marks, he made an example out of the defiant Jewish High Priest, Jacob Stein, by having him beheaded. As a result, this convinced David Cohen and other new believers of Jewish ancestry to think about going into hiding until Christ’s return.
Three and a half days after the deaths of Elijah and Moses, the people of the world were still celebrating. With the exception of the people who believed in Christ, they hadn’t the slightest idea what was about to come next, because they were thoroughly convinced that the Patriarch now had everything under control. In what was becoming a regular feature on UETN, yet another breaking news alert interrupted regular television programming of the day, at the moment, it was a talk show that featured people who turned in believers, along with the beheadings of those believers shown on television. One particular man had turned in over fifty believers and he was becoming a world famous celebrity that every talk show wanted to interview.
“Good afternoon, fellow global citizens, we’re sorry to interrupt your programming, but we have a rather disturbing story to report. Just a few minutes ago, the two men that Patriarch Karimi and High Priest Josten eliminated three and a half days ago, suddenly rose to life, and then ascended into the clouds. Witnesses report a bright light suddenly shining on the two, then hearing a voice come from above telling the two to come up hither, and they did, by going up on a cloud. On some other day, we’d dismiss such fantastical stories as drug-induced delusions by the beyond stoned and very drunk partiers, but this was definitely caught on camera. Unfortunately, shortly after the two disappeared, a massive earthquake leveled a good portion of Jerusalem. Here’s the video from a few minutes ago.”
The video showed everything as described, with revelers who had been partying over the two’s death, looking like they were beyond frightened as they ran away from the area, as if their lives
depended on it. Shortly after the two men ascended, the video showed the earthquake shaking the city. The scene was chaotic.
“We have interviews with some of the witnesses to this shocking event, along with an interview from Patriarch Karimi, who was in the temple at the time of the earthquake. We now have a Zoe Goldman on the phone, who is calling from Jerusalem. Miss Goldman, can you relay what you saw and how you felt?”
“Oh, sure. Um, I was beginning to wake up from my overenthusiastic partying from the last three days when a really bright light from somewhere above me shone on the two haters. I looked over to where the two dead men were, but now they were standing up, not looking anything like what I thought zombies would look like, staring up into the sky. Then, out of the blue, a booming voice that rattled even my bones told the two to come up hither, which, I guess, means to come up, because that’s exactly what they did. They got on a cloud and disappeared into the sky. When everyone around me saw that, they stampeded, and ran away in fear, me included. It was totally weird!”
“Do you know what the authorities were doing in response?”
“Heck if I know, I wasn’t thinking too much about them,”
“Right. Miss Goldman, thank you for taking the time to talk with us today,”
“No problem. Bye.”
“Now, we have an interview with the Patriarch, who is busy surveying the damage caused by the earthquake.”
“Patriarch, I’m Jessie Greenberg with UETN, can you give me a minute or so of your time, since you’re obviously busy?”
Karimi’s patience was wearing thin as he surveyed the damage, but knew how important it was to assure the people that everything was all right, and that he had everything firmly under control. “Sure, Miss Greenberg, I can speak with you for a moment. What would you like to ask me?”
“Okay. First of all, can you speculate on what just happened to the two haters you and the High Priest killed three and a half days ago?”
