THE WARNING A Novel of America in the Last Days (The End of America Series Book 2) (13 page)

Small
Group Bible Study, Home of Hannah & Gary

Birmingham,
Alabama

               
Scott
had come down with the flu, so Beau agreed to lead tonight’s Bible study,
“Welcome, folks. Except for Scott, I think we’re all here. Sally, tell Scott that
we’re thinking about him….praying for him.”

        
“Great. I will, Beau, he needs it….he’s a pretty sick puppy
right now.”

        
Beau opened with prayer, “Lord, give us wisdom as we study
what you want us to learn from prophecy, particularly on the question of betraying
Israel. In Jesus’ name, amen. Who has Genesis 12:3 they can read to us?”

        
Liz responded, “I’ve got it…here it is….‘I will bless those
who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.’”

        
Beau asked, “Any question anyone has as to the meaning of
that verse?
Fairly clear
, huh?
Countries and empires that cursed Israel always paid for it. God keeps His
promises. We read in the Bible that God promises that the end times nation
which betrays Israel, which acts treacherously against Israel, which refuses to
come to Israel’s aid when it cries out for help, that nation will be destroyed
in one day, one hour and one moment. Isaiah in 21:12 refers to this nation that
betrays Israel as a ‘traitor’. Jeremiah in 51:24 tell us that ‘I will repay
Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,
declares the Lord’, then a few verses later in verse 35 Jeremiah says, ‘May the
violence done to our flesh be upon Babylon, say the inhabitants of Zion. May
our blood be on those who live in Babylonia, says Jerusalem.’ ”

        
“Beau”, Tom interjected, “In the next verse, verse 36, God
says ‘I will avenge’ Israel. I don’t want to go down a rabbit trail, Beau, if
you’d rather not, but two verses later in 38 he says ‘her people all roar like
young lions, they growl like lion cubs’ Isn’t that exactly what we’ve been
seeing in the US. We’ve become
a violent
nation
. Just like Jeremiah said, right?”

        
“True, Tom, but coming back to Israel, the Psalmist makes a
striking statement in 137:8 which says, ‘O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to
destruction, happy is He who repays you for what you have done to us’, that is,
to Israel. The most striking verse, in many ways is in Lamentations 4:17.
Here’s how it reads in The Message translation –
‘We watched and watched, wore our eyes out looking for help. And
nothing. We mounted our lookouts and looked for the help that never showed up.
’
So, what is Israel looking for? How does the Daughter of Babylon betray Israel?
What’s this
all about
?”

        
Hannah jumped in, “Beau, there are two big military
invasions of Israel prophesied in the end times. The last one, at Armageddon,
is the final battle and that involves the whole world, then Jesus returns and
all that. Before that final battle, though, Ezekiel in 38 and 39 prophesies
that there will be an invasion of Israel by a handful of listed countries,
including Russia, Iran and Libya. Ezekiel sees a bloody land invasion from the
north of Israel, while Israel is at peace. Israel cries out for help to the
Daughter of Babylon, which
treacherously
betrays
Israel by refusing to come to its aid, and many in Israel die
because of it.”

        
“That’s the reason why the Daughter of Babylon, which is
described as doomed to destruction, is itself destroyed,” Tom added. “You
started this study with Genesis 12:3. This appears to be another illustration
of what happens to people….and nations….that
curse Israel.
They are
themselves
cursed
. With the way we’ve been
treating Israel I wouldn’t be
at all
surprised that we would betray our only ally in the Middle East.”

        
Liz asked, “But, doesn’t this prophecy from Ezekiel say that
the invasion happens when Israel is at peace? They’re
not
at peace today. So, what do you make of….”

        
“Yes, Liz, it apparently means that Israel will be at peace
prior to the invasion. The Prime Minister of Israel himself said recently that
Israel would in the short term enter into a two state peace agreement, giving
up some of its land.”

        
“Tom, I think I remember that, but doesn’t God tell Israel
throughout His Word
not
to give up
the land?”

        
“He sure does, Liz, but, as we all know, Israel hasn’t
always done what the Lord told them to do….
unlike
us
, of course, because we always….obey….Oh, I’m being
sarcastic
, again. But, yes, Israel isn’t
supposed to
give up the land.”

        
Max noted that, “Don’t forget that the US is the only nation
on the globe that has a military defense agreement promising to help Israel on
an urgent need basis should there be an armed attack on Israel. That sure helps
me to see that the Daughter of Babylon prophecies apply to the US, and to no
other nation. President Carter signed an agreement in March, 1979 as an
inducement to Israel to enter into the Camp David Accords with Egypt.”

        
Hannah observed, “Well, I don’t even want
to think
about the US being destroyed,
so this study has been particularly
difficult
for me. But….I can see that God is a God of justice, a God who keeps His word
and His promises to Israel. With fifty six million dead babies’ blood calling
out from the ground, I can see how our betrayal of Israel could be the final
straw with a God of justice. The death toll initially, I’m just guessing, could
be the same number of innocents that have been slaughtered in the womb in
America, all created in God’s image. Plus
who
knows
how many will die later as the country disintegrates?

        
Beau decided that it was time to conclude the study, “With
that
cheery thought
, let’s all do our
reading for next week. We’ll look at who could be used to destroy the Daughter
of Babylon and how they would do it. Don’t forget to pray for Scott’s healing.”

White
House - Oval Office

Washington,
DC

        
Later, the six participants in the late evening meeting
convened by the President had widely different memories of exactly who said what.
What all did agree upon, however, was that at the conclusion of the meeting the
President described what was about to happen in America as a “perfect storm for
fundamental change and we do need to change….
the subject
”. The House Government Reform and Oversight Committee
had just that morning passed on a party line vote seven Articles Impeachment of
the President, sending it to the full House, where it was expected to pass
handily.

        
Brief reports were given at the 11 PM gathering to the
President by five federal department heads. The Director of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported that several million
firearms had now been voluntarily turned in for cash under the McAlister Act
and the brief amnesty period. The President rubbed his chin, looked around the
room and then asked, “Pat, what’s your estimate of the number of firearms that
weren’t
turned in under McAlister, that
are still out there buried….hidden….that the right wingers are still
clinging to
?”

        
Director Patrick Humless thought he knew what the President
wanted to hear, that the ATF had retired as many guns as possible. “Mister
President, we know there must be
some
firearms, of course, that are still out there, but we’re convinced….that
is….our agency believes that we have secured and melted down the
maximum
numb….”

        
“Stop, Pat,” the President interjected, “I
don’t
want government speak and I’m not
interested in glowing, puffed up numbers. Give me a rough, reasonably accurate
projection of how many firearms are still out there?”

        
“Well….based on the sales records of gun manufacturers that
we were able to seize under your executive order, many of which only went back
to the middle of the last century….and taking into account that some firearms
came from overseas manufacturers that wouldn’t respond to your executive
order….we estimate that there are between seventy to ninety million firearms
hidden in the country. Give or take ten million either way.” Director Humless
said the final words rapidly, expecting an angry reaction from the nation’s
Chief Executive. He was wrong.

        
“Good.
Very good.
,”
the President responded, leaning back in his dark maroon leather chair. “
Just
what I wanted to hear.”

        
Humless was taken aback by the President’s reaction,
“Seriously, Mister President. You’re
not
upset
? I mean we know there are millions who refused to….”

        
“Pat. You can’t have a good gunfight if only
one side
has a gun, know what I mean?
Those numbers sound just about right to me. DHS is here, you can give us your
view, but based on our projections and models, that sounds good. Thanks, Pat.
OK….Next, let’s hear from FEMA. Roberto, how’s it going with the clergy?”

        
“Well….very well….Mister President. We’ve now completed our
Romans 13 Patriotic Training programs in every state, every major community and
we’re finishing up now in the smaller towns. You know, where there may be only
five or ten pastors or priests, max.”

        
“Any kick back, signs of resistance?
Surely
some of those pastors didn’t like your training emphasis on
obeying governmental authorities as a Biblical mandate?”

        
“Naturally, we had some of that. A few walked out. Some
tried to go to the media, but we had a tight lid on any reporting of what we’re
doing, so no problem there. The best thing we did, if I may say so, sir, was to
take your idea of not even approaching the known strong evangelical churches
and parishes. Before we started, we identified all of the red list churches and
parishes and we never approached them. So, basically, sir, America is now made
up of two kinds of religious institutions. The law-obeying, subservience to
Caesar types and the law-disobeying anti-government types. The latter group
comprises between a third to a fourth of the total number of churches.”

        
“Perfect….
Perfect
….The
clergy you trained to control their flocks, preaching subservience to the
government….they won’t likely wake up to how they’ve been used
until….well….until it’s too late. With the budget as it is we’ve got to get rid
of tax deductions for religious and charitable donations as soon as the street
battles increase, maybe sooner. Good report, Roberto, Thanks. Next….Let’s
see….Health and Human Services. What’s the food supply going to look like once
the Perfect Storm is in full strength?”

        
The Secretary of HHS then informed the President that once
the dollar was no longer the world’s reserve currency that their studies showed
that the prices of virtually everything would jump dramatically. Oil had been
priced in dollars for decades. He said that once oil is priced in a basket
currency composed of the currencies of the EU, Russia and India, along with
gold, the price of food will increase sharply. People will start hoarding food,
afraid that it will soon increase in cost even more. Food would then go into
short supply within a matter of thirty to forty-five days.

        
HHS anticipated that street rioting and other transportation
disruptions would soon choke the food supply chain, resulting in empty shelves
in virtually every area of the country, with some limited exceptions in remote
rural communities. The Secretary reported that HHS was studying what percentage
of gun-owners might be willing to trade in their hidden firearms for food, once
the food crisis worsened. The President expressed his pleasure at the depth and
significance of the HHS report. He next asked the Secretary of the Treasury to
describe the prospects for replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve
currency.

        
“Sir, everything is in place. The national debt has
never
been higher. As you know, you’ve
added
more debt
than
all
of the prior Presidents of the US,
combined
. Quite an achievement,
actually.
Real
unemployment, not our
released numbers, has crept up every month, except for one, since you’ve been
in this office. Consumer confidence numbers are in the toilet. We’ve exceeded
all of the goals that we agreed we would have to meet
before
the death of the dollar as the currency the world uses for
international trade. I’m informed by our G-8 buddies that they are
nearly ready
, Mister President. They
will make the announcement whenever you say….all they need is
your final word
to go.”

        
“Sounds good, Tom. I….hope….everybody here has….how should I
say it….taken the appropriate financial measures? When the dollar is ditched,
you don’t want to have a lot of your money
in
dollars
, or for that matter, in a retirement account. Don’t leave anything
in a safety deposit box. I’m sure you know that my executive orders allow DHS
to open and seize their contents. Tom may I assume that Treasury is ready to
seize retirement accounts, 401(K), IRA, Roth, all those
fat
dollar accounts just sitting out there not doing anyone any
good?”

        
“Yes, Mr. President. We are ready to solve the federal debt
problem that the Republicans in the House are always carping about. We estimate
that once we seize the retirement accounts, and re-title them in the name of
the U.S. government, the federal balance sheet will look better….
a lot better
.”

        
“They’ll be a lot of
whining
….naturally.
The same thing happened when Argentina seized their people’s retirement
accounts, but
what’s a broke country to
do
? The rich and not so rich potential retirees have the money and Uncle
Sam
needs
it. We’ll agree, of course,
to pay 3% on the seized funds, though we all know that inflation will
far
exceed that, so we come out with a
double
win. We get the retirement funds
and we don’t lose anything on the promised interest payments.”

        
“Yeah,” smiled the Treasury Secretary, “it’s
a big win
for everybody….well,
almost
everybody.”

        
“Well,” said the President, “that leaves us with DHS….Janis,
is everything ready at the Department of Homeland Security?”

        
“Yes, sir, Mister President. Looking forward to the coming
financial storm. We’re
ready
. All of
the FEMA camps are available and ready for inmates….excuse me….ready for our
guests. The interstate highway traffic control booths are all pre-positioned,
the booths can be in place within a matter of hours from the go signal. We’ll
control the interstates. Fifty miles is the longest stretch any motorist will
be able to move, without coming to a DHS traffic control booth, except the
rural, western states where the distances will vary. All of the booths have
bullet resistant glass, air conditioning, links to our facial recognition face
scanners, you name it. Our people will be able to monitor movement. General
Allen at the Pentagon will have the troops available to protect the booths,
if
we get any local resisters. Security
and morale at DHS improved internally a lot at the end of last year once we
retired out from DHS the identified Second Amendment and religious
sympathizers. Made things easier.

        
“Lastly, I’ll report on the fuse for this coming firestorm.
Operation Four Winds is totally ready to go. We’ve identified the religious and
conservative leaders whose motor vehicles we’ll pick up and retrofit with explosives.
Six car bombs, one here in DC, and the others as listed in the report you have.
WE’ll make sure that there are some flyers scattered around near the car bombs
calling for your conviction by the US Senate on the Articles Impeachment passed
by the House. That’ll fill the streets with your angry supporters. As I said,
Mister President, we’re ready. Waiting on
your
orders
, sir.”

        
“It’s getting late, folks. I think we’re done. I just wanted
to hear first-hand from each of you that we’re ready. It will soon be time for
me to
keep my word
to the American
people. It would appear, thank you very much, that what is about to happen in
America will be the perfect storm for fundamental change….and we
do
need to change the subject from
impeachment to surviving America’s
new
civil war
.” His five guests reacted in laughter, then applause, as they
stood to leave this most historic meeting.