Vicki chuckled. “He’s been a good friend to both of us.”
“I was thinking about Ryan earlier and how hard I was on him. You always stuck up for him.”
“You mean about Phoenix?” Vicki said.
“I was on him a lot for different things. I wish I could take all that back.”
“Ryan knew how much you cared. I’m sure of it. And while you’re apologizing, I have to admit I haven’t been the best friend. I was always thinking you were looking down on me because my family wasn’t as rich as your family.”
“You know that stuff doesn’t mean anything now,” Judd said. “When the disappearances happened, we were all in the same condition. We needed God. That was the only thing that mattered.”
“Soooo,” Vicki said. “What does this mean?”
Judd glanced at the front of the tent and saw Lionel. He waved and Lionel started over. “I think it means when I get back, we should take some time and talk.”
“Good,” Vicki said. “I hope you get back sooner rather than later.”
Judd said good-bye and handed the phone to Lionel. He talked with Vicki a few moments and hung up. “So you two are back on speaking terms?”
Judd smiled and put an arm around Lionel. He told him what Chang had said about Carpathia’s plans. “I’ve been thinking we ought to go home.”
“You and me both,” Lionel said. “Westin talked with Z-Van again a few minutes ago and tried to convince him to head back to the States before things blow up here.”
“What did he say?”
“No luck. Z-Van’s committed to a concert that’ll be beamed by satellite all around the world. The GC is hoping it will encourage people in the less populated areas to come out and get their Nicolae tattoo.”
Judd looked at the massive crowd now pushing its way up the steps of the fortress. “It’ll take more than a couple songs from The Four Horsemen—”
Lionel held up a hand. “Is that who I think it is?”
Judd turned and saw two women helping a man with medical supplies. Judd recognized Mac McCullum, their friend from the Tribulation Force.
Judd and Lionel yelled and rushed to the edge of the tent.
Mac smiled and shook hands with the two. He was surprised but glad they were reaching out to unbelievers. “Sorry I’m not more excited right now. We just got some bad news.”
“What’s that?” Judd said.
“One of our members, David Hassid, was killed earlier today.” Mac explained that David was alone at Petra setting up their computer equipment when two GC Peacekeepers stumbled upon him. “They didn’t find the equipment, but needless to say, we’re all pretty upset.”
Judd’s mind reeled. He had hoped the protection of God would cover all believers involved in the operation. If David Hassid was dead, that meant other believers might die.
Will God protect Lionel, Sam, and Mr. Stein? Judd thought. Will he protect me?
33
JUDD and Lionel talked briefly with two women helping Mac, Hannah Palemoon and Leah Rose. Leah had come from the States to help in Operation Eagle, while Hannah had worked in New Babylon. Leah gave Judd and Lionel food, and they thanked her.
Lionel led Judd up the crowded stairway to rejoin Mr. Stein and Sam. As they slowly inched through the masses, Judd asked Lionel how they should get home.
“Westin’s a man of his word. He told us he’d take us back. If anybody can get us there, he can.”
Judd’s phone rang and it was Chang. While Judd talked, Lionel went ahead, taking some food to his friends who were seated on a ledge above them. The phone beeped a low-battery message, so Judd quickly told Chang what was happening at Masada. Chang informed him that Dr. Rosenzweig was there waiting for the chance to speak.
“There are no speakers or microphones,” Judd said. “How are all these people going to hear him?”
“There wasn’t time to set any of that up,” Chang said. “I’m praying God will enable everyone to hear.”
“Any problems with the airlift out of Jerusalem?”
“The return runs from Petra to the Mount of Olives have been delayed slightly, but things have gone smoothly. It seems a miracle that such a massive relocation has not had one mechanical failure.” Chang paused. “I didn’t expect one thing—my mother e-mailed a message.”
Judd had met Mrs. Wong in New Babylon and knew she wasn’t a believer. “Has she taken the mark of Carpathia?”
“I don’t think so. She said my father was upset about what Carpathia did in Jerusalem and he wondered what I would think about it.”
“Good,” Judd said. “They both sound more open to the truth.”
“Perhaps. My mother is the one who has visited Tsion Ben-Judah’s Web site. She wanted to know how he could predict things so accurately.”
“I’ll tell the others here and we’ll pray for them,” Judd said. “Did you write back?”
“Yes. I pleaded with her to give her life to God before it is too late.”
“I hope one day she’ll be part of the Tribulation Force,” Judd said.
Chang’s voice broke up and the phone finally went dead. Judd ran to the Hummer and plugged in the recharger, then found Mr. Stein and the others. The sun had gone down and Judd closed his eyes and listened to the noise of thousands of Israelis talking among themselves. Judd checked his watch. It was only an hour before the lifting of the plague.
Will God allow Carpathia to bomb these people? Judd thought.
Mr. Stein motioned to a robed figure at the other end of the fortress. The man’s head was bowed in prayer. Mr. Stein joined hands with Judd and the others. “Righteous Father, those gathered here have not known you, but we ask that you will open ears and eyes tonight, and give your servant a strong voice and mind. We ask in the name of Jesus, amen.”
As Mr. Stein finished, Dr. Rosenzweig stood on high ground and raised his arms. People around the fortress pointed, and Judd noticed that those outside became quiet.
“My friends,” Micah said with power, “I cannot guarantee your safety here tonight. Your very presence makes you an enemy and a threat to the ruler of this world, and when the plague of sores upon his people is lifted at nine o’clock tonight, they may target you with a vengeance.”
Judd watched the man’s lips move. It looked like a foreign movie dubbed into English. Mr. Stein leaned over and whispered, “He is speaking in Hebrew, but we understand in English.”
“I will keep my remarks brief,” Dr. Rosenzweig said, “but I will be asking you to make a decision that will change your destiny. If you agree with me and make this commitment, cars, trucks, and helicopters will ferry you to a place of refuge. If you do not, you may return to your homes and face the gruesome choice between the guillotine or the mark of loyalty to the man who sat in your temple this very day and proclaimed himself god. He is the man who defiled God’s house with murder and with the blood of swine, who installed his own throne and the very image of himself in the Holy of Holies, who put an end to all sacrifices to the true and living God, and who withdrew his promise of peace for Israel.”
Judd looked at the people around him. No one strained or acted like they couldn’t hear.
“I must tell you sadly that many of you will make that choice. You will choose sin over God. You will choose pride and selfishness and life over the threat of death. Some of you have already rejected God’s gift so many times that your heart has been hardened. And though your risky sojourn to this meeting may indicate a change of mind on your part, it is too late for a change of heart. Only God knows.
“Because of who you are and where you come from, and because of who I am and where I come from, we can stipulate that we agree on many things. We believe there is one God, creator of the universe and sustainer of life, that all good and perfect things come from him alone. But I tell you that the disappearances that ravaged our world three and a half years ago were the work of his Son, the Messiah, who was foretold in the Scriptures and whose prophecies did Jesus of Nazaret
h, the Christ, fulfill.”
Vicki was mobbed as she walked into Colin Dial’s home. Mark gave the full story of Manny’s decision to stay with the gang and the kids prayed for him, his sister, and that Hector would respond to the truth.
Darrion burst through the door, hugged Vicki, and urged the kids to follow her downstairs to hear the meeting at Masada.
“How are you getting it?” Mark said.
“Chang found a way to send it,” Darrion said.
Mark guessed by the tinny sound that they were using a cell phone. However they were doing it, Dr. Rosenzweig’s voice was clear.
The room was electrified as he spoke of Jesus as the Messiah the Jews had long awaited. He gave prophecy after prophecy from the Scriptures that Jesus had fulfilled. Vicki noticed Tom and Josey Fogarty furiously taking notes.
“He is the only One who could be the Messiah,” Dr. Rosenzweig declared. “He also died unlike anyone else in history. He gave himself willingly as a sacrifice and then proved himself worthy when God raised him from the dead. Even skeptics and unbelievers have called Jesus the most influential person in history.
“Of the billions and billions of people who have ever lived, One stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of influence. More schools, colleges, hospitals, and orphanages have been started because of him than because of anyone else. More art was created, more music written, and more humanitarian acts performed due to him and his influence than anyone else ever. Great international encyclopedias devote twenty thousand words to describing him and his influence on the world. Even our calendar is based on his birth. And all this he accomplished in a public ministry that lasted just three and a half years!
“Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, Savior of the world, and Messiah, predicted that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Centuries after his public, unmerciful mocking, his persecution and martyrdom, billions claimed membership in his church, making it by far the largest religion in the world. And when he returned, as he said he would, to take his faithful to heaven, the disappearance of so many had the most profound impact on this globe that man has ever seen.
“Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem to a virgin, to live a sinless life, to serve as God’s spotless Lamb of sacrifice, to give himself willingly to die on a cross for the sins of the world, to rise again three days later, and to sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Jesus fulfilled these and all the other 109 prophecies, proving he is the Son of God.”
Vicki closed her eyes and tried to picture the gathering in Masada. She wondered if, at that same moment, Manny might be speaking to the gang, using different words, but giving the same message.
“Tonight, Messiah calls to you from down through the ages. He is the answer to your condition. He offers forgiveness for your sins. He paid the penalty for you. As the most prolific writer of Scripture, a Jew himself, wrote, ‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
“For years skeptics have made fun of the evangelist’s plea, ‘Do you want to be saved tonight?’ and yet that is what I ask you right now. Do not expect God to be fooled. Be not deceived. God will not be mocked. Do not do this to avoid a confrontation with Antichrist. You need to be saved because you cannot save yourself.
“The cost is great but the reward greater. This may cost you your freedom, your family, your very head. You may not survive the journey to safety. But you will spend eternity with God, worshiping the Lord Christ, Messiah, Jesus.”
The kids didn’t make a sound. Vicki prayed silently for the people in Masada and that Judd and Lionel would soon return.
Judd stood, his mouth open, excited at what was happening around him. Seeing Chaim Rosenzweig speak with such authority to so many Israelis was worth any danger he would face. Judd knew the Bible predicted that Jewish people would one day recognize Jesus as Messiah. Could this be the day?
As Chaim listed more prophecies Jesus fulfilled, Judd noticed people standing, responding to the message. People hung on every word. As Dr. Rosenzweig came to the end of his presentation, he invited people to pray with him. All around the fortress, inside and out, Israelis repeated the prayer. Judd looked over the crowd and saw many with the mark of God on their foreheads. Dr. Rosenzweig walked down the steps and thousands followed him.
Judd drew close as Mr. Stein talked with Rabbi Ben-Eliezar and his wife.
“Jesus is the fulfillment of all of those prophecies,” Mr. Stein said.
The rabbi put a hand through his hair. “To say that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah is to go against everything I have been taught. I don’t know …”
Mr. Stein lowered his voice. “Which is better? To continue believing a teaching that is in error or to believe the truth?”
Mr. Stein turned to Mrs. Ben-Eliezar. “You have heard the evidence. You know Nicolae Carpathia is anti-God. God has spared your lives for this time. But you must make your decision.”
The woman huddled close to her husband. “I don’t think we have a choice, Ethan. To put our trust in Jesus seems like spiritual suicide, but I feel in my heart that we may have been wrong all these years.”
The rabbi gave Mr. Stein a terrified look. His eyes flashed as he turned to his wife. “How could I have been so blind? I have trampled the gift of God all of these years.”
“Give your lives to the master now,” Mr. Stein said. “Don’t wait another minute.”
“I can’t remember the prayer,” the rabbi said. “Will you help us?”
Mr. Stein nodded and the rabbi and his wife repeated his words. “Dear God, I know that I am separated from you because I am a sinner. I believe Jesus is the Messiah and that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. I believe he rose again the third day and that by receiving his gift of love I will have the power to become a son of God because I believe on his name. Thank you for hearing me and saving me, and I pledge the rest of my life to you.”
Rabbi Ben-Eliezar and his wife looked up, and Judd saw the mark of the believer on their foreheads. Mr. Stein wept with them and Judd turned away. What he saw both thrilled and horrified him. Dr. Rosenzweig moved toward hundreds of vehicles and helicopters that waited in long lines. But thousands of others ran from Masada. They looked hopeless, like people with no direction, fear etched on their faces. They called out, looking for rides back to Jerusalem.
Judd shuddered when he thought of all those people turning their backs on God. Judd had done the same thing many times when he was younger.
Is this their last chance? he thought.
34
LIONEL and Sam helped Mac and the others tear down the medical tent and load it in a truck. People streamed out of Masada and into helicopters, cars, and trucks.
When the supplies were loaded, Mac yelled for new believers to get in the back of the truck. “Next stop, Petra!”
Israelis streamed toward them. One grabbed Sam by the arm. “When we pray to God now, should we pray to Jesus?” he said.
As Sam talked with him, Leah, a member of the Tribulation Force, turned to Lionel. “Are you coming with us?”
Lionel looked around for Judd. He didn’t want to leave again without talking with his friend. Before Lionel could answer, Sam said, “I’ll go.”
“Then get in,” Leah said. “And you?”
“I have to talk to my friend,” Lionel said. “Go ahead.”
Leah ran to the front and hopped in. Sam shook hands with Lionel and smiled. “Thanks for everything you’ve done. I hope to see you at Petra.”
“If not,” Lionel said, “call or write us. I want to hear about everything.
”
Sam jumped in the back of the truck. As they drove away, the Israelis peppered Sam with questions.
Judd and Mr. Stein joined Lionel at the loading area. Westin honked the Humvee’s horn and waved.
“Somebody should go with these people back to Jerusalem,” Lionel said. “Maybe they can be convinced of the truth.”
Mr. Stein frowned. “I’m afraid they have hardened their hearts. If what they heard from Micah did not persuade them, I fear they are destined to choose Carpathia over God.”
Judd studied the scores of choppers and vehicles recruited from around the world. The amount of work to get all these people together was staggering.
Lionel looked at Judd. “What do we do?”
Before Judd could answer, GC vehicles rumbled up with loudspeakers mounted on top. “The entire state of Israel has been declared a no-fly zone by the Global Community Security and Intelligence director. All civilian aircraft, take fair warning: Any non-GC craft determined to be over Israeli airspace runs the risk of destruction.
“The potentate himself has also decreed martial law and has instituted a curfew on civilian vehicular traffic in Israel. Violators are subject to arrest.
“Due to the severity of the affliction that has befallen GC personnel, these curfews are required. Only a skeleton crew of workers is available to maintain order.
“His Excellency reminds citizens that he has effected a relief from the plague as of 2100 hours, and the populace should plan to celebrate with him at daybreak.”
Judd looked at his watch. It was a few minutes before nine. If these announcements were correct, new believers loading into the helicopters were flying to their deaths.
Mr. Stein started toward a quickly filling chopper. “Are you coming?”
Westin honked again. “I’ve got two more spots, guys, come on!”
Judd hesitated, knowing the decision he was about to make might change the course of their lives forever. In the dust and noise of motors and GC announcements, Judd grabbed Lionel by the shoulder and pulled him toward the Hummer.
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