Times of Tribulation: Christian End Times Thriller (The End Times Saga, #7) (16 page)

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?”

Smiling, with a hint of mischief in his eyes, the Patriarch replied, “Oh that. My people tell me that it was some kind of massive technological trick, something that Hollywood and the movie studios pull off all the time in their movies. The people who supported both men somehow figured out how to fool everyone into thinking they rose from the dead and then were somehow carried off into the vast beyond. Don’t worry, my friends, the two are still dead, so don’t let a technological illusion like what just happened fool you. Remember, I’m here and that’s all that matters. Do you have anything else to ask, Miss Greenberg?”

“Yes, sir. What about the earthquake? Do you know the damage done and how many were killed?”

“The earthquake was just a coincidence. As for the damage done, it’ll be a few days before my engineers can give me that figure, and the same goes for anyone killed. I’m rather busy, young lady, do you have any other questions?”

“No, Your Excellency, thank you for your time. This is Jessie Greenberg, reporting from Jerusalem, back to you at the studio.”

“Thank you, Jessie. We here at UETN will keep you updated regularly on the earthquake and the various problems it caused, so please stay tuned. We wish peace and blessings on you.” The network returned to regular programming.

In Big Bend, the Harrison’s led a Bible study of Revelation and the associated prophecies each time something happened that confirmed one the prophecies. “As you can see in Revelation 11, Elijah and Moses were supposed to carry out their duties for three and a half years. Then, as we saw, the Anti-Christ killed them, after God withdrew His protection for a short time. Now, we’re at the point where the two were resurrected and went to Heaven, which happened three and a half days later like the Bible says. After they ascended, the earthquake hit Jerusalem, causing a tenth of the city to fall, along with seven thousand people. Praise the Lord that all of this has come to pass, since we’re now only three and a half years away from Jesus’ Second Coming. I don’t know about the rest of you, but Gwen and I look forward to that, especially since the judgments ramp up in the second half of the Tribulation, which we’ll begin to take a closer look at as they are set to happen. Now, let’s end our study in prayer.”

Josh led the group in prayer, praising God for each day they continued to live, and showing His mercy towards them as they tried to survive the oncoming Great Tribulation. He asked for protection from the forces of evil and for the salvation of those who hadn’t yet rejected Christ as the Son of the Living God. Josh thanked God for his and his wife’s salvation and prayed that everyone with him would live to see the Second Coming. He ended the prayer and the group separated so they could go off to do their duties.

Chapter 17

The Patriarch’s assassination came as a shock to everyone who followed him, even his security agency, since there had been no credible threats to his life. No one would’ve even guessed that Abraham Levenson, the former Defense Minister of Israel, would’ve had the nerve to assassinate anyone himself, let alone the leader of the whole world. Appearing on television looking like he had a heavy heart and had been crying, High Priest Josten said, “I have heart-breaking news. Our leader, the man who brought the world together in peace, harmony, and unity, has been assassinated by former Israeli Defense Minister Abraham Levenson. Rest assured, he has been executed. Patriarch Karimi’s body will lie in state for the next three days, and those of you who can, are invited to view his body before he is buried. We will have a month of mourning for our dearly beloved leader. We will survive this as we have survived everything else these past few years. Remember to stay united in this time of sorrow. I wish everyone peace and blessings.”

UETN began airing the Patriarch’s accomplishments, beginning with his role as leader of Iran before he brought the world together. Citizens of the Union of United Earth were interviewed about the effect the Patriarch had on their daily lives, some went so far as to say that he saved them from being under the demoralizing influence of the haters who they thought dominated the planet for far too long. With the haters gone, the global community were grateful that the Patriarch let everyone be who they wanted to be and be with anyone they wanted to be with, no matter where it was, in public or in private. The citizens of the world felt free to live life how they wanted without someone judging them and telling them they were going to Hell. The public hoped that the next leader of the world would be as open-minded as the Patriarch was.

Even though nine of the ten regional administrators had yet to be replaced after the very quick world war, as most of the originals were killed in nuclear strikes, their temporary replacements praised the Patriarch’s leadership skills, and claimed that no one but Karimi could have brought the world together the way he had. Since Wayne Davis was the only one who hadn’t been replaced, he was asked to share his thoughts.

“I thought Patriarch Karimi was the perfect man for the job of world leader. His leadership brought us through some very troubling times and he decisively brought the world together as one to deal with the problems. His choice of High Priest for the one world religion was brilliant. While dealing with the haters has probably been one of the more difficult problems during his rule, the Patriarch dealt with those people with an iron hand, ridding the world of them one by one, through executions. I’m honored to have been handpicked by the Patriarch as the second administrator of North America after the first one so thoroughly failed to live up to the Patriarch’s standards. I will miss the leadership of our fallen leader and I do hope that whomever replaces him will be just as effective.”

A day later, Wayne called the Priest for North America, Dylan Nelson, to come in person to Puerto Rico to discuss something that required upmost security. Once there, Nelson asked, “What can I do you for you in person, Mr. Davis, that couldn’t be discussed over the phone?”

“What I’m about to discuss with you is too much of a security risk for me to talk about over an unsecured phone line, so I wanted to discuss it in person. What would you think if I told High Priest Josten that I wanted to take over the role of Patriarch?”

Nelson’s jaw dropped, this was the last thing he expected to hear come out of Wayne’s mouth. “Why would you do that? The Patriarch’s barely been dead for a day, don’t you think that’s a bit tacky?”

“I think I should strike while the iron’s hot. I want to remind Josten that I’ve been a loyal citizen the entire time and I’ve dealt with the haters in this region most effectively as administrator. I have the skills and I’ve always been an effective leader, so why not?”

“Aren’t you afraid the High Priest would answer you by having you beheaded for your arrogance?”

“I know Kevin, he wouldn’t be so rash. He’ll weigh the evidence and will eventually come to know in his heart that I’m the right man for the job. After all, I put myself in position before this job opened up, so I don’t see the downside in trying,”

“You’ve obviously made up your mind long before you asked me to come, so I think you should try. If it fails, it’s your funeral.”

“Thanks for being a sounding board, Dylan, but you’re right, I had decided to do this before calling you. You’re dismissed, my destiny awaits.”

Leaving the office, Nelson thought,
What a nut job. He’s going to get beheaded for being so arrogant. Oh well, I look forward to working with whoever replaces him.

“This is High Priest Josten, how can I help you?”

“Hi, Kevin, this is Wayne Davis. I wanted to speak to you about the position that just opened up and I wanted to place my name as someone who’s interested,”

“What position?” Josten wondered what Davis was talking about, not thinking at first that he meant the position as Patriarch.

“You know, the position as Patriarch. I’ve been loyal and as the North American administrator, I’ve dealt effectively with the haters. My political career shows I can be an effective leader. Do you think it would be possible for me to get it?”

“Boy, you’re bold, I’ll give you that. We’re going to be in official mourning for at least a month, so I won’t even be thinking about who will get the job or if we’ll have an election for the position. Wayne, you better be glad I know you, otherwise, your audaciousness and lack of respect for the dead would get you beheaded before the day was out. Now, I want you to hang up and not bother me again for a very long time. Got it?”

“Fine, I’ll not bother you again.” Wayne hung up and angrily thought,
I wonder what crawled up his backside?

“What do you think, Patriarch, should we punish him after your resurrection?” Josten took the recorded audio from the phone call and played it for the Patriarch.

Chuckling, the Patriarch replied, “No, I happen to like his attitude, although his timing could be better. When I rise from my coffin, he’ll probably be frightened by the thought that we’d do something to him, so I think he’ll behave, at least for a while. I wish we had more people like him around the world who are willing to lead, but we don’t. I think you need to ramp up the mourning from my loyal subjects, they don’t seem to be crying enough as they pass the coffin. Think you can do that, High Priest?”

“I will do as I’m asked, Your Excellency.” Josten left the Patriarch’s apartment to begin getting mourners to be a lot more mournful while they walked past the supposed body of their Patriarch.

Meanwhile, Gwen Harrison was discussing the supposed death of the Patriarch with Janet Robertson and the others in the women’s Bible study. “As you can see in Revelation 13, the dragon that has power will give power to the beast who will be wounded in the head. The dragon is Lucifer, you probably know him as Satan or the Devil, and the beast is the Patriarch. The Patriarch was supposedly shot in the head, so there’s that wound. Once the Patriarch comes back to life, however he manages to accomplish that little trick, he’ll be indwelt with Lucifer. The indwelt Patriarch will give power to High Priest Josten to bring fire down from the heavens so they can put the fear of the Patriarch in the hearts of those who continue to follow them. Since the people have already accepted the delusion about the Patriarch bringing peace to the world, they’ll readily accept him declaring that he’s a god. Karimi and Josten will widen their war against the saints, meaning those who believe in Christ and especially the Jews who are saved during this time. I have good news though, in a little over three years, they’ll be overthrown by Christ himself when He returns with the Raptured saints,”