Glorious Appearing: The End Of Days (22 page)

“For whatever reason?”

“So that we avoid the danger of friendly fire, great one. ”

“Suffice it to say that I and my cabinet are to your northwest. ”

So much for visibility and inspiration. Apparently Nicolae was fully aware how close he’d come to being bird feed at Petra. “Right behind you, boys,” seemed to be his mantra for this skirmish. But it would prove to be more than a skirmish.

“It appears the entire population of Petra is here,” a general broadcast.

“If you are addressing me, ” Carpathia said, “you will take care to use proper approbation. ”

“I’m addressing those crucial to this operation, sir. ”

“Your commander in chief is crucial, General, and you would do well to remem—”

“I will remember that when this begins, you are hiding in the northwest, away from the action. ”

“Identify yourself, infidel!”

“Front lines, sir, which is more than I can say for the commander in chief. ”

“Dissension among the ranks!” Mac crowed. “What could be better?”

“We’d better move now, Excellency,” another general weighed in. “We do ourselves no favors allowing the enemy to study us.”

“They are unarmed!” Carpathia said. “This should be a walk in the park!”

“They were unarmed in Petra, Commander,” the first general said. “Have you forgotten their commander in chief remains overhead? And have you questioned how they got everyone here so fast?”

“Attack!” Carpathia shouted.

And what was left of the southern third of the Unity Army slowly began moving upon Bozrah.

To Rayford it appeared the operation was a suicide mission. As soon as Global Community forces came within range of the remnant of Israel, the soldiers seemed to launch every last projectile in their arsenal. He could not imagine a more earsplitting fusillade, and yet the bullets and missiles and rockets and mortars fell harmlessly, even in the midst of the mass of people. Millions and millions of rounds continued to pour from barrels of all sizes as the army slowly continued to advance.

Yet despite the din, the words of the Lord could be heard clear and plain.

“Come near, you nations, to hear; and heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world and all things that come forth from it. For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, and His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter. ”

Rayford watched through the binocs as men and women soldiers and horses seemed to explode where they stood. It was as if the very words of the Lord had superheated their blood, causing it to burst through their veins and skin.

“Also their slain shall be thrown out; their stench shall rise from their corpses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall fall down as the leaf falls from the vine, and as fruit falling from a fig tree. ”

Tens of thousands of foot soldiers dropped their weapons, grabbed their heads or their chests, fell to their knees, and writhed as they were invisibly sliced asunder. Their innards and entrails gushed to the desert floor, and as those around them turned to run, they too were slain, their blood pooling and rising in the unforgiving brightness of the glory of Christ.

“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; indeed it shall come down on Edom, and on the people of My curse, for judgment.

“The sword of the Lord is filled with blood. It is made overflowing with fatness. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

“Their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust saturated with fatness. ”

It was as if Antichrist’s army had become the sacrificial beasts for the Lord’s slaughter. Carpathia screamed, “Bring me a plane, a chopper, a jet—anything! Get me to the north! Now! Now!”

And Jesus said, “For today is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.”

“Where’s Carpathia’s ride going to come from?” Rayford said.

“Ash Shawbak, ” Abdullah said.

“That’s right, Smitty, ” Mac said. “That your hometown?”

“Hardly. Amman; you know that. ”

“‘Course I do. Wasn’t Ash Shawbak where the dignitaries were, on their ‘zecutive safari, sippin’ cordials and s’posed to be watching Nicolae bring home the victory?”

“That is the place,” Abdullah said. “I would love to see their faces now. ”

“Lookie there,” Rayford said, nodding toward the sky to the southeast. A jet helicopter was screaming to the northwest, at the edge of the decimated army.

Rayford raised the binoculars again and studied the area. “There they are,” he said. “That big old Humvee is just sitting there alone. Looks like Carpathia’s not going to even risk getting out until he absolutely has to. ”

“His army’s gone,” Mac said. “‘Least this part of it. Not a shot bein’ fired from anywhere. ”

It had grown deathly quiet. As Rayford watched, the chopper put down several yards from Carpathia’s position. Only he and Leon disgorged from the vehicle. Leon held the hem of his robe at his waist and ran as fast as was possible for him. Nicolae seemed to catch his great scabbard on the way out of the Humvee, and it hung him up for a second before he angrily freed himself. He dashed to the helicopter, overtaking Leon and elbowing him out of the way to be the first one on.

As soon as Leon was aboard, having been pulled in by assisting hands, the craft lifted off and headed north. Rayford panned left and right with the field glasses and saw no movement among the wreckage of the Unity Army. Bodies were strewn for miles and the desert floor was red with blood.

“Oh, look at this, ” Rayford said, scrambling to open his door and leap out. Mac and Abdullah followed and the three climbed atop the Hummer, watching as Jesus descended from the sky. His horse gracefully touched the ground in the plains to the west of Bozrah, and as the entire Jewish remnant watched from the mountain, Jesus dismounted. The army of heaven remained perhaps a hundred feet above Him, following as He strode through the battlefield, the hem of His robe turning red in the blood of the enemy.

The saints above Him began a responsive recitation, asking questions in unison that He answered for all on earth to hear. “Who,” they began, “is this who comes from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah, this One who is glorious in His apparel, traveling in the greatness of His strength?”

And the Lord said, “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. ”

“Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?”

“I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, and trampled them in My fury; their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, and I have stained all My robes.

“For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come.

“I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me.

“I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk in My fury, and brought down their strength to the earth.”

And the vast thousands on horseback above Him in the heavens praised Him in unison:

“We will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. ”

And Jesus said, “Surely they are My people, children who will not lie. And so I became their Savior. ”

With that He turned toward the multitude watching from Bozrah. “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.

“For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled…. Now look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near. ”

“What do you think is happening right now, Brother Enoch?”

Enoch wasn’t sure, but he had an idea. In Illinois, as he knew was true everywhere, regardless of the hour, the day was as bright as noon without so much as a shadow. The glory of the Lord was the light of the world. But Jesus was no longer visible in the sky.

“Will we see Him again? Or do we have to go there for that?”

“I believe we will see Him again, ” Enoch said. “Even today. He is probably fighting one of the battles that precede the fall of Jerusalem and His delivering of the Jews there. But the prophecies say that when He delivers Jerusalem and ascends the Mount of Olives, every eye shall see Him. Obviously, that includes us. ”

“But pretty soon, like after today, we’re going to have to get ourselves over there, right?”

“I sure want to,” Enoch said. “But it won’t be cheap. ”

“Well, look at it this way: we got us a thousand years to raise the money.”

“I don’t want to wait that long.”

“Me either. How about a car wash?”

“Head west of the Dead Sea and south of Jerusalem,” Rayford told Abdullah. He settled into the backseat of the Hummer, letting Mac have the front. “Carpathia’s not happy, Mac. You been listening?”

“Yeah,” Mac said. “Guess he expected the northern two-thirds of his army to be ready. Sounds like they’d rather cut and run. ”

“He could lose a bunch of them and still have plenty.

He’s trying to get them organized to annihilate the Jews at Jerusalem. ”

“But Jesus won’t let them get that far, will He?”

“Actually, He will, ” Rayford said. “At least a lot of them. But many soldiers are going to die between here and Mount Megiddo. If I read it right and Tsion and Chaim were correct, that’s next. ”

As they traveled, they followed Jesus now riding horseback on the ground, His army above and behind Him, and the Jewish remnant running along en masse. Again, they covered more than seventy miles in an hour, and the whole way Jesus spoke to them as if to each individually.

“I am the King who comes in the name of the Lord, ” He said. “I am the Mediator of the new covenant. I am the one who bore your sins in My own body on the tree, that you, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

“I am the Bread of God who came down from heaven and gives life to the world. Therefore keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

“I created all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Me and for Me. I have come to do the will of God. I came into the world to save sinners, not to be served, but to serve, and to give My life a ransom for many. ”

Rayford had been taught over the past seven years that the Word of God was quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. He had also learned that the Word would never return void. Now, as it was being burned into his heart and soul by his Redeemer, he felt filled to overflowing and ready to burst.

What a privilege to hear the Word from the Word! He and his friends rolled through the desolate land, hearing what everyone else in the world was hearing, and yet Rayford knew each was taking it as if for him or herself. He certainly was. And just about the time he forgot that truth, Jesus would refer to him by name.

“Rayford, for this cause I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. I can do nothing of Myself, but what I see the Father do; for whatever He does, I also do in like manner. I am the stone the builders rejected, yet I have become the chief cornerstone, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. ”

“Lord, I worship You,” Rayford whispered, hearing Mac also praying. Abdullah drove along with tears pouring down his face.

RAYFORD
HAD
TO
SMILE
. Here were the southern flanks of the remaining two-thirds of Antichrist’s Global Community Unity Army all right, but they looked little more organized and ready to fight than did the corpses left in Edom. Perhaps that’s why Carpathia was nowhere to be found, and from the transmissions they could hear, he was on his way farther north to the center of his fighting force in Megiddo.

Both Tsion Ben-Judah and Chaim Rosenzweig had been telling Rayford for years that of all the prophetic passages in Scripture, the final four battles between Jesus and the Armageddon armies were the most difficult to understand and put in sequence.

“Our best bet is to follow Jesus, ” Rayford said.

“There’s a sermon if I ever heard one, ” Mac said.

“These battles are going to take place where they’re

going to take place, and the only thing I’m sure of is who wins. ”

“Well, ” Abdullah said, “I am sure of a little more than that. ”

Rayford saw Mac shoot Abdullah a double take. “Ya don’t say, Smitty. Pray tell. ”

“I have been studying.”

“Studyin’ what?”

“Geography mostly. On my own. ”

“That can be dangerous.”

“I have found it most informative.”

“And I’d like to hear it, Abdullah,” Rayford said.

Mac shook his head and settled back. “Oh, boy. Here we go. ”

“I had been most curious, ” Abdullah said, “why all of history pointed to Armageddon for the end. I mean, what is Armageddon? It is a place with many names and actually covers a lot of ground. ”

“You shoulda been a perfessor, Smitty, ” Mac said.

“Hush, Mac. Teach on, Abdullah. ”

“Well, you are both fliers, and you have many times seen the mountain ranges that run the length of Palestine.”

“Sure, off the Mediterranean coast.”

“You know the break where the mountains all of a sudden drop to altitudes of about three hundred feet or less?”

“Up there where the highlands split off from the northern hills of Galilee?”