Story Behold Wrath - The Revelation Series, Book 1 (a long-awaited SHIFT sequel)

[sssarawolf]

Thank you very much, was waiting for another chapter to pop up

 

[Giskard]

15​

It took some doing to get past Albuquerque. Sandy shook her head at Nathan when he looked at the map and suggested they take advice from an old Bugs Bunny cartoon and make a right turn at Albuquerque. It was not so much the suggestion as it was the imitation of the voice that rolled her eyes, but she had to admit Nathan knew how to use humor to unwind everyone. She could see why Cassie liked him so much.

However, coming out of Albuquerque they were dismayed to hear on the CB radio that barricades and roadblocks were popping up along several highways. Although there were no nearly as many cars on the road there were enough running that FEMA decided the precautions were needed. The virus dubbed the Turkey Flu was sweeping the world. Masks and social distancing were requirements as were forehead temperature scans. A vaccine cocktail had been fast-tracked, designed to kick the body’s immune system into high gear. It had been developed after the previous so-called pandemic for just such an occasion. Millions of ampules had also been distributed by the WHO and CDC at key locations throughout the world.

The chatter on the radio remained constant and persistent. To illustrate how controlled the media was developing, there was little to no voice of dissent aired on broadcast radio. Only on CB and Shortwave could one hear stories of bad reactions to the vaccines. Broadcast news was that the small number of reactions were well worth the risks considering the alternatives. Truckers became a great source of information for what was happening on the main roadways. There were stories of people in pale blue hazmat suits surrounding vehicles at check points and more than enough reports of shootings. So much for the efficacy of masks.

Once again, they were blessed to find an open gas station. Although the power grid had been bit-by-bit restored to something like forty-eight percent, they were told, few vehicles were running. This also meant few trucks were delivering gas, groceries and goods, but, it also meant that not a lot of cars were lining up for the remaining gas at the stations with pumps operating. The balance between scarcity in fuel, yet scarcity in customers, kept the prices reasonable in locations reasonably close to a competing station. Woe to those who find themselves needing gas out in the middle of nowhere with only a single filling station. Good luck. Anti-Gouging laws or not, there still remained too few to enforce such laws. Especially with the looting and very real pandemic consequences at play.

Sandy was chilled cold once with the news by the time their two car caravan got around Albuquerque, but opted to head south rather than take the 40 when they learned of a blockade at Clines Corners, New Mexico. They opted instead to follow the small highway 41 directly south through a chain of small communities, then eastward through Fort Sumner, rather than risk Roswell. The haunted looks of those watching them drive by made Sandy turn the heat on her feet, she was so chilled and creeped-out. Not that there were many on the streets and those that were constantly had their head on a swivel for wild dogs and other animals, if they were smart. On more than one occasion their vehicles had been charged by ravenous dogs as they passed.

She was grateful once through those communities and out again in no-man’s land. Sandy kept glancing up to the sky for some sign of glimmer of fire cascading to the earth that would tell her the Seventh Seal had been opened and the Trumpets were about to sound. Not that she was looking forward to it. She just knew that the passing of each event was necessary and wanted to come out the other end and see Jesus come and wrap this mess up. She entertained for a bit that martyrdom might not be so bad, considering what was coming. At least her journey would be complete and she would find herself singing praises before the thrown of God. Still, at this point, she was not so sure she had the guts for a brave and dignified ending. Maybe if it were quick.

Then again, how glorious would it be to come out the other end of the Great Tribulation and even be on hand to see Jesus himself come out of clouds of glory on a white horse! That alone would be worth every effort to get through this trouble to be one of the few, a remnant, to survive attacks from Satan’s forces, nature’s labor pains and wrath of God and walk right in to Christ’s Kingdom, Paradise on Earth.

Sandy made a mental note to read up on that and see what it was supposed to be like. Maybe if she could keep her mind on that, the coming terror would become easier to endure. She surely hoped so.

But there was good news as well. On the CB newly converted preachers could be heard sharing the gospel, that Jesus came to save the lost. That he lived his life in holy perfection but gave his life to die on the cross and shed his blood for many. That Jesus Christ rose on the third day and because he did so, we too can be joint heirs together with him through eternity when he returns to establish his Kingdom on David’s throne.

Regular reports of massive revivals were regularly shared as well. The saints were arrested and locked up in FEMA camps for meeting and singing. Baptisms were regularly interrupted by soldiers in hazmat suits and heavily armed. They came in buses and loaded converts up and hauled them to FAMA camps that continued to pop up across the nation. Stories came out that many of these “reckless radicals” were dying in the camps having exposed themselves and others to the Turkey Flu. Those were according to the official reports. Unofficial reports were of bodies removed were bleeding from places where hemorrhagic bleeding should not be… Like from the back of the head, or even head removed, and so on.

Sandy and company discussed this at length and found the implications very disturbing but also no surprising.

In response to this, the Antichrist (for that is who Lukas was) announced new Hope Camps would be established in abandoned houses of worship and other facilities throughout the world as established by The Prophet to meet the needs of those seeking refuge and comfort in these difficult times. The Prophet was how the Pope was now presenting himself as he embraced all faiths and enjoined the world to recognize the many wonders of the Mahdi, the Messiah, the Savior of mankind, Lukas Koenig.

Because of the pandemic, virtual worship was established across a network that every effort would be made to keep up and running. Globally, laws were established that, like 911 or 999 emergency calls, internet connections to this vital social media video channel would remain open and free as mandated by Koenig himself. It was being reported that within the vaccine were antibodies from the blood of Messiah Christ Koenig and that mass healing were taking place throughout the world.

Somewhere in a campsite north of Lubbock, Texas, the crew sat and wondered at the implications. The Prophet was now leaking that Koenig and Jesus were one and the same and that this was the second coming and Koenig was establishing his kingdom, and that he was giving everyone the opportunity to come to him freely now or face judgment. Rumors of all sorts of miracles and healings were rampant, as well as videos that had to be taken on faith as authentic.

At more and more population centers the small caravan came upon, Andy and Gary would preach. Andy would stand atop his van at campsites and call people to attention. At the camp they were in, now, in Lubbock, an old Rabbi in a broad had, stood next to the van with his ram’s horn, a shofar, and began to blow it to get the attention of the people. Sandy and Nathan shared what she was certain was the same look of awe, so amazing was the sound. Eva came to her and wrapped her arms around her waist.

Andy pronounced curse and judgment boldly upon the Lukas Koenig, decried The Prophet as The False Prophet and their religion as the false church and not the bride of Christ at all, but in fact the Great Whore of Babylon, Satan’s system. Andy went on to declare Jesus as he who was, and is, and is yet to come, but not that faker, that false messiah assuming his identity.

As Andy preached the gospel the crowd more and more began to kneel where they stood and prayed, crying great tears at first of sorrow that eventually turned into great tears of joy. The old Rabbi offered the shofar to Andy and showed him how it was done. Andy picked up on blowing the shofar surprisingly quickly. The others tried it and even Sandy herself gave it a go, with pitiful results. Before he left the camp, the old Rabbi spoke at length in Hebrew with Andy. Before he left, he held his hand up as Andy bowed his head and the Rabbi pronounced some sort of prayer or proclamation over Andy in Hebrew.

A caravan of heavily armed hazmat suitors arrived (Sandy didn’t know what else to call them, FEMArs didn’t work for her) and ordered everyone to stay where they are and line up by the buses for a temperature check. Yeah, right.

What happened next would continue to marvel Sandy for the rest of her days. It happened when Andy stepped forward and said to them, “No, you need to stand down.” And they did. The men and women in hazmat suits dropped their arms and simply looked around as though dazed. Eventually, Sandy figured out they couldn’t see any longer. They had been struck blind. Whether permanently of not, Sandy could not know. The new tribulation saints continued to dance and sing praises, even hugging the people in the hazmat suits before departing. Eventually it occurred to Sandy that the whole time Andy spoke, his voice was loud enough to be heard clearly even as she backed up to make way for people crowding in. Only, his voice was not loud in an uncomfortable amplified way. More like he was standing a couple feet away no matter how far from him one stood.

If a new age of miracles was upon them then Sandy was all the more excited to not be martyred or otherwise killed for as long as she could, just to witness such wonders.

All through Texas such wonders followed the crew. Really, the blessings and wonders were surrounding Andy as one of the Lord’s 144,000 witnesses. More and more reports of the same were heard on the radio and try as they might to spin it, could not be avoided by mainstream media as well. They tried to spin them as Satanic, as maybe other alien outsiders or maybe the same ones are betraying their beloved Leader for some reason. It was your typical talking heads buffoonery.

Seen as the ring leaders of these insurrectionists, The Two in Jerusalem had been accused by WHO of spreading the virus. In response, one of them pronounced a plague on them and they broke out in boils. Then they accused them of making a chemical attack and so troops were sent to take them out. Automatic weapons were fired at them that did not prevail. One of The Two, who Andy clarified as The Two Witnesses within Revelation, breathed fire on their attackers and called fire down from the sky upon the rest who were following behind and preparing to attack them. Nathan excitedly read the passage in Revelation concerning them that described exactly this. He read Revelation chapter 11:

“5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.”

“So, why is this way up in chapter eleven? Doesn’t that fit about the middle of the tribulation week?”

“Yes, but it’s a parenthetic portion.” Nathan explained, “See, verse one starts with measuring the temple, then also about the temple for forty-two months and the two witnesses prophesying for twelve hundred, sixty days. Those both mean three-and-a-half years. So anyway, down in verse seven the two witnesses are killed. Obviously this chapter is parenthetical because you have them starting their three-and-year ministry and dying within about five verses in a chronology of the book.

“See, what John is about to do is share a long chain of events that all lead up to the middle of this week of years, which really begins what Jesus called in his Olivet Discourse, The Great Tribulation.”

“I got you. So John is catching the reader up to speed with this narrative that is about how and when they die, but he has to pick up at their beginning and what their ministry is like,” said Sandy.

“Yep! And, aside from the fact that we are here now and are living it, how we know from the text about the timing of it all is revealed in the clues about how they die.”

“What do you mean?”

Nathan looked at his Bible and pointed, “Look at verse seven. It says the beast, I think clearly the devil and I’ll explain, makes war with them, overcomes and kills them. Let’s skip to the clue about when in the tribulation week this must be. Do you recall our talk… it seems like forever ago now… about what things will be like by the time Jesus comes down upon the earth?”

Sandy thought she could recall some of it. She said, “Yeah. Darkness, all the islands have sunk because of yet another great quake and the mountains have been leveled. Jerusalem, a lot of it has collapsed. Let’s see, oh yeah. Man-sized hail has fallen, brimstone from the sky, all the fire and dust from these makes the moon and sun like sackcloth. Oh! All the water has turned into blood, all the earth has armies gathered at Armageddon to make war… What’d I miss?”

“You got most of it. Look at verse nine. Everybody all over the world are watching their bodies lay in the streets for three-and-a-half days. All those dwelling on the earth are partying, making merry, exchanging gifts because they are dead. See that?”

“Oh, I think I see what you are saying. Even if the internet is still up, at the end won’t exactly be a party atmosphere. Most people will be dead or dying, Armageddon, blood, darkness… Who’s going to be out shopping for gifts and partying?”

“Now you’ve got it. Also, look at verse 14. What’s happened when the Two Witnesses resurrect right under the view of the world?”

Sandy looked. “Looks like another great quake, lots more killed and… Oh! Verse fourteen says the second woe is past and the third is coming quickly. Well shoot. That’s the middle. It can’t be at the end.”

“Right again. So now we have textual evidence the Two Witnesses start at the beginning but die then resurrect in the middle.”

“Clever!”

“Well, you know. Twenty-twenty hindsight now I guess.”

Sandy snorted, “Twenty-twenty… Remember when we thought that was bad?”

Nathan laughed.

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you.

 

[Texican]

There is a lot in the Book that is playing out now.

Be ready and be prepared.

Texican....

 

[Daytonabill0001]

“Right again. So now we have textual evidence the Two Witnesses start at the beginning but die then resurrect in the middle.”

Wow! I never made that connection before! Good Job!!!

 

[Daytonabill0001]

There is a lot in the Book that is playing out now.

Be ready and be prepared.

Texican....

Or be spewed out of the Lord's mouth and end up being left behind. Remember Paul said that Jesus is coming for those who are looking for Him...

 

[Butterfly]

Thank you so much!!!

 

[Giskard]

15 B​

The mix in the two vehicles switched frequently as they drove and God kept them safe thus far. Sandy did not know, nor did any of them, whether their group would be under divine protection the entire seven years because of their collective proximity to one of the 144,000. Even the apostles died martyrs deaths, save one who survived being boiled in oil and it was he who penned the Book of Revelation, also known as The Revelation of Jesus Christ, as it is called in the very first verse of that book. As they criss-crossed and meandered through first Texas and then into Oklahoma, they group had some close calls, but no other blatantly miraculous escapes, though surely God-ordained.

At one particular and uneventful stop Nathan offered to drive for Sandy so he could pick Gary’s brain over some scripture he’d been reading in light of current events, not always a good way to read in normal times. But then, they were no longer living in anything resembling normal times by any stretch. It worked out well because she and Andy almost never had time to chat just between themselves any more. And being new to the faith, like all of them, Eva had questions she too wanted to ask Gary and Nathan, so that worked out well.

Hurling down the mostly uninhabited highway at about seventy miles per hour, Sandy asked Andy, “So, Mr. Memory, how many people you reckon have converted in your camp meetings?”

He glanced at her and grinned, “I have an enhanced memory, but that doesn’t make me a mind reader.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah. It’s a blessing, isn’t it? I trust in Jesus that most of them are sincere.”

“The Lion’s share?” she quipped.

“Ha ha. You’ve been spending too much time with Nathan.”

“It’s awful how catchy it is.”

“Catchy? Is that a fishers of men joke?”

“See?” she laughed. “Now you’re doing it too.”

“He’s a sharp kid. I’ve learned a lot from him. Gary too. He’s got a way of connecting dots.”

“Yes he does. I still marvel at how God threw us all together.”

“I marvel every day that God has even deigned to think of me, let alone use me to officially witness His great revelation,” Andy said, somber.

Sandy found herself squirming a bit, struggling with a small and silly confession. “You know…” She cleared her throat. “When we met, you know, and you pulled me over. Back then, you know.”

Andy looked her way and favored her with a grin, “I thought you were pretty cute, myself.”

She felt her face grow warm. “How do you know I was going to say that?”

“You weren’t going to say that?”

“Well…” she looked away. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I mean, you being one of the 144,000 virgins… Probably the only ones left in the world over about thirteen years of age.”

“Be nice.”

“I am. You can’t help it if no one was attracted to you.”

“You are so mean!” he said, but he was laughing. “Look. Seriously, because I have this calling doesn’t mean I’m unfeeling like some sort of robot. Under different circumstances I would probably try to overcome your otherwise good senses and excellent taste in aesthetic faces and persuade you to go out with me on a date.”

Sandy laughed, but she felt a little sad. Andy must have sensed it.

“I am serious though. You are an attractive and funny, godly woman and we have landed together with, literally, the worst possible timing in all of history. I am honored to have you here as my friend, sister in Christ and co-conspirator against the Antichrist and Satan himself. This is God-ordained. There are no accidents, as you know.”

She grinned and genuinely felt warm inside.

“It is an honor, isn’t it? I mean, for us all to find ourselves on this greatest of all adventures on behalf of the King of kings, when really, who are we? It’s not like He needs our help. How does that happen?”

“For His own glory, but also to bestow His grace upon us out of His love for us.”

“I have not always made sound decisions in life,” she said, “so I can do no other thing and no better thing than live my life by Christ’s desires and not my own.”

“Who said that?” Andy asked.

“Me,” she grinned. “Are you losing your hearing?”

He laughed.

“Hey, I have a question about what’s coming up next.”

“Nathan’s talk about the middle of the week, the beginning of the second half, which is what Jesus called the time of great tribulation.”

“That’s the stuff. So the lead-up I get. The final and Seventh Seal is the opening of the Trumpet Judgments. They sound a lot like the Seal Judgments but greater in intensity, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, mostly. You must be talking about how the Seals wipe out a fourth the world but the Trumpets sort of repeat but wipe out a third. That’s in the eighth chapter of Revelation. I think what is particularly strange is that while the Seals resulted from war and what we might call Natural Disasters, the Trumpets well and truly introduce a much greater spiritual element.”

“What do you mean? Isn’t it all spiritual?”

Andy qualified, “It is, but I guess I should have said manifested spiritual element. Open up to the last verse in chapter eight. Read it to me.”

“Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!’”

“So this eagle…”

“Probably an angel. Look, the Bible is written from man’s perspective, even though God is the Author. You have four gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. They are all God-breathed, coming from Him, supernaturally. He gave them remembrance and the Holy Spirit directed them in what to share, yet each book is distinct. They don’t contradict but are different eye-witness accounts.”

“Yeah,” Sandy agreed. “How does that work?”

“Okay, let’s say you and I go see a really great movie…”

“It’s a date. I accept,” she smiled. “Next time someone makes one, we’re there.”

Andy smiled, “That may be a while. But to my point, if you please.”

“Sorry. Go ahead.”

“We see this movie we enjoy and someone asks us about it. Let’s use Braveheart as an example. I’m going to start sharing about the great battle scenes, William Wallace’s courage… What are you going to share? What moved you?”

“Oh, I liked his romance and pursuing the gal, or Lady… Whatever she was.”

“Good. All that was fiction added to the film and not historic, but my point is…”

“Ah, you ruined it for me!”

“My point is, that we can both be saying different things, but about the same movie.”

“Yeah, yeah. So the gospels are each different perspectives of the life of Jesus Christ. I understand that. Now I forgot my question,” Sandy chided.

“It was about eagle versus angel and what John saw at the end of chapter eight.”

“That’s right. So you are saying, from John’s perspective, he sees something with a huge wingspan and can only identify the wings as like those of an eagle. At least until it begins screaming words with a loud voice.”

“Correct. Unless.”

“Unless what?”

“This is the Book of Revelation after all. Maybe it’s a great big talking eagle.”

Sandy punched is arm.

“What. Did God ever make an animal talk?”

“You’re aggravating. So, okay, then chapter nine. I just read this. Lots of locust demon things are unleashed on unbelievers to torment them. These aren’t regular locusts because they don’t eat the plants. In fact, they are prohibited from doing so. It says believers are sealed and protected. The pain is like scorpion stings and so bad that people will want to die, but won’t be able to. What in the world is up with that? Death takes a holiday?”

“Dunno. I mean, the Hebrew writers indulged in hyperbole more so than other writers, so he could be using exaggeration to make a point. John’s way of saying they will be hurting so bad they will wish they were dead, but will just have to suffer through it. It does say though that they will seek death and will not find it. Kinda creepy and zombie-like. We’ll find out all too soon.”

“I’m not really looking forward to seeing any of this.”

“Yes, and from there it gets really weirder and stranger, or at least as strange. But you and Nathan were talking about how the Two Witnesses end their ministry, as I recall. So, best I can tell, Revelation 11 is a lead-up to the start of the Great Tribulation and so is chapter 12. We also have another weird Antichrist event concerning Lukas Koenig. In Zechariah 11:17:

“’Woe to the worthless shepherd,
Who leaves the flock!
A sword shall be against his arm
And against his right eye;
His arm shall completely wither,
And his right eye shall be totally blinded.’

“So at some point he is wounded. Some will say verses in Revelation 13 and also chapter 17 say his wounds are mortal and he is resurrected. I would say, if he is, God did it for His own purposes but that Satan has no such power on his own. Does anyone think if he could do that at will, that he would not be engaging in that regularly?”

“Well, shoot, he would probably be raising all kinds of terrorists from the dead all the time!” Sandy agreed.

“Okay, so you see my point. So let’s examine our clues. May as well do it in order. What do you see in Revelation 13? Anything?”

Sandy began to scan the verses. “Wait. Okay, I have to do this right. It starts with the word, ‘And’ so that means I have to flip back at least to chapter 12, right?

“See how good you are? Okay, what is going on in Revelation 12?”

“Uh, same thing. It starts with ‘And’ just like chapter 13. Now what? Eleven?”

“Do it. Can’t hurt, right?”

“Ah. So this is where we read about the ministry of the Two Witnesses and the Temple. So if this is the lead-up, as you say, to the middle, which starts The Great Tribulation, verse 7 talks about the beast that rises up out of the pit kills them. Then they rise from the dead. The twenty-four elders worship before the throne and praise God for His judgment, taking back his great power in verse17, the time for judgments and rewards, and in the last verse God’s temple in heaven is opened and the ark of the covenant is seen within… wait. It won’t be in the temple in Jerusalem? I’m confused.”

“Don’t be. This is about the middle, correct? Think about Daniel chapter 9, for one thing. What happens in the middle of the week?”

Light dawns on Sandy, “Oh yeah! In the week he causes the sacrifices to end. The ark is the mercy seat of God, so… what…”

“Sounds to me like God yanks it up at some point. We can only speculate exactly when, but continue.”

 

[Giskard]

15 C​

Sandy looked at Revelation 12 and said, “Okay so I guess John is seeing a vision. It’s the woman clothed with the sun, moon under her feet, a crown of twelve stars thing. Then the red dragon, seven heads, ten horns before her to devour the male child. Some I get, some is confusing.”

“Fair enough. By the way, remember that dream Joseph had back in Genesis 37? The dream that ticked his brothers off so much they wanted to kill him?”

“Yeah, he saw each of his brothers, fathers of the twelve tribes, as the stars in heaven. Jacob was the Dad, and his name got changed to Israel. Foreshadowing?”

Andy pointed to her, “Very important. Because the Roman Catholics in particular will say the woman is Mary, because she did have a son Satan wanted to kill.”

“Yeah, but then what are the twelve stars? Disciples?”

“If you are not careful you can plug any matching math in there you want. That’s a dangerous thing. Once you go down the road of imposing a preconception on top of what you are reading, you can go anywhere, and all the guesses can’t be correct. Only one can be. See?”

“Of course. This is fun! Okay, so it says though about the woman that the child was a male. So… Could be Mary, but if you go with the woman being the nation of Israel, that would fit with the male child being Jesus still. The dragon still wanted to take him out. Oh! It says in verse 5 that the male child is ‘one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.’ Kind of like, ‘Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.’”

Andy said, “It’s exactly like that. Jesus is the great and good shepherd, after all. Psalm 2 and Revelation 2 also uses that imagery. Some will attempt to say that the male child represents the throne and that where it says the child was caught up to God and to His throne, that it’s the church in the rapture. What do you think about that?”

Sandy thought about that. She tried to imagine how that could work. Yet, that would make Israel, the mother, giving birth to the church. In a way she did. The church was mostly comprised of Jews early on. Yet no, as Israel, as prophesied in the Old Testament, Israel rejected not just Christ, but his church, which is neither really Jew or gentile.

She said, “Is there any other place in the Bible that paints the church like a male child? Or a male at all? I guess as Paul said, the body of Christ, with Christ as the head. Even that imagery is not really elsewhere here in Revelation or anywhere else, is it?”

“Not that I recall having read thus far. How is the church painted in Revelation?”

“Well, there is no direct church mention after chapter 3 of Revelation. Coming up, there is the Bride of Christ and then Wife of Christ. Or could the woman really be Mary, giving birth to the son, Jesus and Jesus builds his church?”

“See what I mean? It is real easy to impose notions onto the text and then the confusion ensues. What else does that verse say? Verse 6, as I recall.”

Sandy looked and read, of course, this idea was wrong. “It says,

‘and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.’

“That woman sure ain’t Mary fleeing into the wilderness for three-and-a-half years. That’s Israel. So this is just like through the whole Bible, Satan has been trying to devour first Israel, to stop the Messiah, through war, slavery, worship of false gods, inter-marrying and corruption of the promised line for the Messiah. Then Satan tried to prevent Jesus’s birth, kill him after he was born, corrupt and tempt him after he was born, then keep him from rising from the dead once he was dead.”

“Very true. Since that time, Satan’s approach has been two-pronged. He tries to wipe out the church and Israel, keep Israel out of the promised land, kick them out of the promised land, and ultimately to make God a liar and defeat Him by ruination of His divine plans.”

“Okay, so I’m going to play it safe and say this first part outlines Satan versus God’s plan for the ages, Satan’s fall and God’s victorious redemption child, which is really what the Revelation of Jesus Christ is all about. It’s about Christ and not about man, per se, whether Israel as the center of it all, or the church. It’s about Jesus, I mean come on. So Jesus was caught up to right away in Acts at his ascension. So what happened that God prepared a place for Israel to flee to under God’s protection for three-and-a-half years?” she asked.

“Keep reading, sister. I think you’re doing great.”

“Thanks. I’m trying. Okay, verse seven says war arose in heaven. Uh, oh. Now is this in our future, or now?”

“Here’s where it gets tricky.”

“Get’s tricky? You’re a regular riot. It says, and I quote:

“’7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.’

“So, we know this was true of the past and Satan was cast out along with a third of the angels that followed him, and this looks like it is showing us this is who the serpent was, the great red dragon a little earlier. Right?”

“All this is true from what we can read in both Ezekiel 28 and also in Isaiah 14. But is this what John is describing here? This is indeed saying that John is seeing painted in a great sign in heaven. It could be something astronomical. There was a very, very unique sign in Virgo, with Leo, could be tribe of Judah, right there in the heavens leading up to Rosh Hashana back in, oh, I wanna say 2017.”

“Get out,” Sandy said. How’d she miss that? “But isn’t that astrology?”

“No, no. It’s astronomy. There is a difference. God, like He did with Joseph, remember? Gove the stars, including the wandering ones we call planets, for signs and for appointed seasons, it says in Genesis. But the stars don’t order our lives, as Satan’s astronomy would have us believe. God orders our lives. He is sovereign. But He gives signs. Some that it was a harbinger leading to the rapture back in 2017.”

“Fail!”

“Well, yeah, but what is the passage about?”

She looked down. Okay, God’s war with the Dragon all through time and the redemption of man through the Savior Messiah… What else? Okay, she decided to keep reading.

“’10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.’

“This I recognize as Satan’s modus operendi from Job. He is ever before the throne accusing God’s people and arguing. What else?

“’11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!’ 13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.’

“Now wait a minute.” Sandy had to process.

Andy said, “Now remember, Bible prophecy is progress, revealed in stages, like echoes or ripples in the water. Not the best example maybe. Okay, like seeing something in the distance, the details coming into focus the closer you get, maybe. Or like a song that gets completed over time and the chorus is the same, repeated throughout the song in a pattern.”

“Yeah, so here, it is true that Satan fell, was cast out in a war in heaven with a third of the angels. Yet, like in Job, he still had access to the throne. In the New Testament he is also called the prince of the power of the air. He sort of temporarily has had hold of possession of the earth, up until this point. But since Revelation 6 where you or Nathan or someone said, the Seals are on the scroll that really is the Title Deed to creation, so that the Seal Judgments are the beginning of Jesus, the Lamb of God who is the one worthy to legally open the scrolls, and reclaim creation and restore it. That is what is happening throughout all the Book of Revelation. Right so far?”

“Right so far. So what is this war? What is happening here in chapter twelve?”

“A few things are distinct. Satan, the Accuser, is thrown down by Michael at this point. Not who will accuse the saints day and night, so this is not the original fall. It is past tense. So this is since that time!”

“Amen,” said Andy.

“So now he is cast down once-and-for-all by Michael to the earth. He’s sort’ve had his wings clipped, so he is mighty angry because he knows his time is short.”

“You’re cheating. You read ahead.”

“A little.”

“Well, what do the following verses say then. Read it to me,” Andy urged.

“13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood[c] on the sand of the sea.”

“That’s a mouthful,” Andy said.

“Yeah, so like I said, he’s mad, so he goes after God’s people, including ‘the woman’ Israel and sends a flood. Probably not water. A flood of people, like an army, right? Also, from what I read in like Zechariah 12, a remnant and not all the Jews. So this remnant is fleeing to the hills, maybe Petra, and the dragon orders an army after them, but God swallows them up and he is ticked off. So an eagle carries them off… Another angel, or…?”

“Dunno. Sounds like a divinely appointed airlift of some kind though.”

“Wow.” Sandy hoped by some miracle she could be there to see that. You know, from a safe distance.

“So, the Two Witnesses and their end. What do you see?”

“Well, I see in that last verse the dragon, furious with Israel, now rescued, so he goes off to make war with her offspring. The offspring it tells us here are ‘those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. That’s the tribulation saints right there. So the dragon is after the woman, and the saints. And it says, ‘And he,’ the dragon, ‘stood on the sand of the sea.” Then the thought hit her. “Wait a minute!” Sandy flipped back to the beginning of chapter eleven.

“Here it is! Chapter 11 and verse 7:

“7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them,

“So we don’t know how long this war is, but at some point Michael stands up at the Lord’s behest. He’s about to wrap things up. I mean, wars can last years. In Ephesians we have always had spiritual warfare, but this is different. This is not just defense and not just the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. This is the mighty Micheal, archangel standing up and taking care of business with Satan and his armies. Could’ve started in 2017 I guess. Doesn’t matter. Rapture happens, Judgments, Two Witnesses… Finally, Michael mops the floor with Satan and clips his wings!”

“But he’s mad. I’m not sure which comes first, but at some point, Antichrist has been mortally wounded. Maybe killed. I gotta look at that more. But Satan is cast to earth. He’s angry and he possesses Antichrist. Sorry, Lukas Koenig, just like he possessed Judas. It’s a miraculous recovery! Everyone marvels. He uses the occasion to order every army at his immediate disposal to go after the Jews and the Christians, the people of God. He hates them all. God intervenes. Now he’s even more ticked.

“This is where it says about the Two Witnesses that they have finished their testimony. They’ve been preaching against the false messiah and for Jesus for three-and-a-half years. This is where Satan rises out of the bottomless pit to make war on them and conquer them. This is where Michael had cast him to the earth, because Satan has always been out of the pit and roaming the earth seeking whom he may devour. He climbs out and kills the Two Witnesses, goes after the woman and the saints. How’d I do?”

Andy regarded her with something like admiration. “That sounds outstanding. The next thing I see is chapter 13 which is also 2 Thessalonians 2 and also Daniel. Antichrist possessed by Satan now stands in the temple and declares himself God. The False Prophet erects an image of him there and makes it speak. People are forced to worship it and take the mark if they ever hope to buy or sell anything and get along in his world.”

“Creepy. So it’s not just about getting a tattoo or a mark on your right hand or forehead,” Sandy said.

“No, certainly not before there ever is a beast demanding worship. And it is more about the worship, which is in exchange for right worship of Jesus Messiah alone. That is what is damning. God will not redeem those who willingly worship the beast just to be able to get the mark so they can enjoy the comforts of this world.”

“Not yet?” asks Sandy?

“Not yet, but very soon.”

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you for the new chapter.

 

[Butterfly]

Thank you!

 

[Giskard]

I have a couple of questions.

First of all, I appreciate the feedback and patience while this unfolds. I also appreciate the kind words and encouragement.

That said, I am leaning toward combing back through the story and nudging up the interaction between the characters. It is my intention as I go to "turn the volume up" if I can put it that way. In other words, the Book of Revelation itself builds and builds. Like those living on the earth, the dangers increase and increase. The same will be true here. There is also a good chance that someone will die, as with life during the tribulation week, though these enjoy a sort of blessing in the ministry and companionship of one of the 144,000.

But the big question is this: Is this working? I hope you see what I am doing. Eschatology has sort of been my within my wheelhouse since the 1970's and my understanding of events has modified as I learned. That's the way it should be, I should think. Folks have encouraged me to write more fiction and some have encouraged me to please write a commentary on the Book of Revelation. However, beyond a few pastors, teachers and seminary students, who the heck is going to sit down a read through a commentary?

Again, is this working? This last chapter, for instance; A lot of information. I probably need to break that up with action. Dunno. My attempt here is to teach Revelation by living vicariously through the eyes of one character as she endures the building drama. All the characters are new believers so, in my mind, they are doing what many will be doing, and that is learning what they can about what is happening and what will happen next. I have never seen someone do something like this before, trying to, in a non-dry way, teach Revelation, references and all, within a fictional story. I really am trying to not guess. Where things are unclear, the characters remain unclear, but it is more art than science, even if I were to write a dry commentary.

I guess that is what I am asking. Is it working for you? I appreciate comments, suggestions, with much thanks.

-Dave (aka Giskard)

 

[Eagle 326]

Working just fine . Keep up the good work .


Run Low Drive On

 

[Butterfly]

Oh my yes! It is working! Thank you for your efforts and keeping it clear.

 

[Texican]

Dave,

You bring up many good points as to what Revelation means which is great. Your story will have many to read and study the Word in greater detail.

Keep up the good works.

Thanks,

Texican....

 

[CGTech]

I think you are doing quite well the way you are going.

 

[mawmaw]

You are doing a great job please keep it up

 

[Giskard]

Thank you all so much for your comments. I will keep on this path then and keep plugging away and see how it goes. God bless!

 

[Dannab1]

I am liking the way you are handling it!!

 

[Giskard]

I am liking the way you are handling it!!

Really appreciate it.

 

[Giskard]

16 a​

People rarely notice overpasses and underpasses on their daily commute. Not that the middle of Texas is Sandy’s daily drive, but it sure made her think. It only has been on her radar really since leaving California. Speaking of California, she continued to hear how the infrastructure there had completely collapsed and how little news was coming out by direct broadcast. Arguably the entertainment capital of the world and yet sufficient working power cannot well enough be provided for Los Angeles to send a broadcast. Literally, vloggers were now the primary source of news from that poorly managed state.

Anyway, the bridges and overpasses. Their group had taken the blockages due to the severity of the quakes in stride as means whereby God above directed their path. Sandy marveled at how many they drove under and over within most any city of any size. Unlike California, the states of New Mexico and Texas were lit. The EMP that crippled much of the nation tripped many of the stop-gap devices designed to blow in such an event. A few, it was said, caught fire. Firstly, it is probably ill-advised to buy such materials intricate to the safety of our country from other foreign countries not particularly friendly to your own.

Mask mandates were, once again, in full force. The so-called Turkey Flu moniker had morphed into the term Zombie Apocalypse by a media ever eager for more blood in its if-it-bleeds-it-leads philosophy. The disease was spreading and there also was an increasing spiritual component attached. While certain drugs may be known to increase human strength, diseases will quickly diminish human strength and bodily functions. In this case, more and more cases were reported with regularity of broken handcuffs, bed straps and of inhuman voices calling out from, often, unmoving lips.

Then there was an alarming casualty rate by both domestic and wild animal attacks. It remained a subject of dispute as to whether this was as a result of this same disease having crossed over into the animal kingdom, in part because genetic differentiation typically reduces such potential, if not eliminating it entirely. Some people were proactively wandering the streets and shooting strays and not a few on leashes with their owners. Even small, cute, fluffy ones were not immune to becoming targets.

Meantime, the world over, the two broad extremes became increasingly wider. Videos revealed crowds in the hundreds praying, singing and rushing into rivers, streams and oceans for baptism. The 144,000 were in uncomplimentary tones referred to as the Zionist Faction in the media for their participation. Worse, because Lukas Koenig was being hailed as the Christ, the 144,000 were being called antichrists. Systemic attacks upon them and the Two Witnesses were miraculously rebuffed time after time. While no actual footage ever revealed counter attacks from the 144,000, the same was clearly not true of the Two Witnesses.

Many referred to the Two Witnesses as Moses and Elijah, mostly due to their strange and old-world attire and bearing, but also due to the nature of their counter attacks upon forces that came against them, from calling down fire from the heavens like Elijah, to plagues like those from Moses, including swarms of pests. The Witnesses never themselves never revealed their names, so the issue was, in part, a matter of speculation. In a discussion sitting around a meal, Gary pointed to the so-called Mount of Transfiguration in the gospels when Jesus transformed himself into his glorious future presence above, as though from a doorway to Heaven, standing with both Moses and Elijah.

The discussion grew more animated when Nathan pointed out that some say the Two Witnesses were probably Enoch and Elijah because they never had a regular death but were somewhat raptured themselves and the Bible says it is appointed to man once to die, then after that the judgment. Andy gave them pause when he pointed out many have missed that literal appointment, including Lazarus, a little girl, hundreds of people who arose around the time of Calvary, not to mention the raptured bride of Christ, the universal church who also never saw death.

Thus the conversation then went to speculation as to whether The Two, as Andy referred to them, were actually Moses and Elijah or the text was meant to convey symbolism due to the nature of their ministries and judgment. After all, John the Baptist himself was referred to as Elijah, crying in the wilderness. He either could not or would not say which was the case, but that it did not matter. To that, no one could disagree.

After risking a burner phone call to his source, Andy announced their meet-up was a go in just three days in East Tennessee. The plan was for resupply and maintenance, as well as strategy meetings with key persons well equipped and trained for making things happen in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. When Sandy asked about the end game, whether the strategy is to simply tough it out for the remaining years or get involved in some way, Andy expressed his preference was to make their way into the heart of the Middle East, because, said he, he is a witness, after all. He is a witness not simply in the meaning of witnessing, as in sharing his faith, but he is a witness of events concerning the revealing, or revelation, of the Lion of Judah, King of kings and Lord of lords, as he judges and reclaims the world.

While there were many implications to Andy’s statements on the matter, Sandy and crew remained mum and contented themselves with meditation upon those prospects for the time-being. They had been sitting in a campsite in Oklahoma at the time and all were too restless, destination now known, to roll up and rest for the night. The vehicle mix switched up again and they prayed before leaving that God would open their roads and bridges, or show them favorable alternatives, so that they might get where they needed in three days. Normally, under ideal conditions, they would arrive in about a half a day. Twelve hours. However, when Normal left the building and joined his friend Elvis, he took all things pleasant about traveling with him.

They remained upbeat and surprised when they made Hot Springs, Arkansas within a couple hours. It was a good sign, they figured. They had just cleared Lonsdale when everything went to Hell. They saw lots of lightning and heard the thunder first. Sandy was sitting in the passenger seat of her rig with Nathan driving when they shared a look of dread. Their shared look seemed to say, “Here it comes.”

And it did.

To his credit, Nathan, in their lead vehicle, identified a flat area off to the right of the beautifully wooded road that was in front of an old farm house, Andy, Gary and Eva pulling up behind. Sandy squeezed her eyes shut and prayed when the biggest God-awful earthquake bounced them around like Curley Neal dribbling a basketball. Surely, not quite that bad, but tell her stomach that. The world around them rippled like a sea of green and black. It rolled and rocked like grandma shaking out an old rug, and about to beat it with a stick.

After several minutes they reached the calm before the storm they came to know as The Seven Trumpets. Sandy opened her door and risked becoming crushed under a bouncing truck, except she knew the quakes were gone for a spell. She found her legs had transformed into heavy, wet clay or maybe her joints had simply vanished. Andy was there to grab under her shoulder, so he must have jumped out of the Mystery Machine before she jumped out of her International. A cloud of dust washed over them, and yet without wind. The earth had simply been kicked up in the air by the great shaking.

She looked helplessly at Andy, “What are we supposed to do?”

He held a finger to his lips and listened. Then he looked up. All followed his gaze toward the south. The sky began to glow, but Sandy knew it was too soon for sunrise. Then it spread. All they could do was turn in circles and watch the sky. Points of orange and white came into definition and grew. Eva ran to Sandy and buried her face in her chest and wailed. Andy just held his arms open in a gesture and said, “Get close.” The small grew huddled and watched.

The sky around them appeared to light with embers and coal, flung to the earth at great speed. It was a micro meteor shower on a level Sandy could never have concocted in her own imaginings. It was intermixed with larger chunks, falling to the earth. She was surprised she could hear a mix of whistling and sizzling as the debris flew against the earth with audible thock, thump and whonk, and not a few booms!

“Wh-what is this?” Eve’s voice quavered.

“It’s the first Trumpet Judgment, sweetie. Just hang on. We’ll be okay,” Sandy said in her shaky attempt to sound confident.

Andy quoted with awe in his voice, “…and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.”

Nathan looked down at the grass under their feet with alarm, “Uh, guys… Should we maybe move?”

Sandy saw him catch Andy’s eye and he shrugged, “It couldn’t hurt!”

Everyone ran back into the International and the Mystery Machine and they floored both vehicles before worrying about conveniences like buckling up, or even making sure everyone was in a seat. Sandy heard Andy’s voice across their radio, “We got gas. Their still aren’t many cars. Just go, go, go!”

And the earth continued to burn around them and the sky above them. Sandy tuned the dial of the broadcast radio. Usually, more stations were easier to pick up at night, but the static from the meteor shower crackled across the airwaves. She gave up and tried the CB. The scanner stopped on a channel where maybe truckers were talking.

“Unbelievable, man. Some scientist dude says this is that same meteor or, I guess asteroid thing, that hit us before, but now on the return orbit from around the sun! Called it Asteroid Apsínthion or some happy nonsense. What kinda handle is that? This is all stuff pushed ahead and trailing behind, so he said it’s trapped in our gravity and coming down, buddy!”

“Copy that, Dog Whistle. Gonna be a looong night, believe me. Over” The other man answered.

“That’s a 10-4, Iron Horse. Say, what’s your 20, over?”

“Right now just outside Springfield, looking for some Go Juice. Man, the world is on fire! You? Over.”

“Roger that. Amarillo! Amarillo is gone, buddy! It’s all burning, and… God Almighty above, do you see this!? Uh, over.”

“Yeah, it’s blazing here too, Iron, I don’t know if I will get through. Ain’t seen an Bull Dog or Bull Frog or nothin’ for two-hundred miles…”

“Up, up! Look at that headed for Cali!”

“Whooo man! What in tarnation!”

Sandy grabbed Nathan’s arm and said, “Pull over a minute.”

Andy got on the two-way radio, “What’s up?”

“I think something you need to witness.”

They pulled to a stop without pulling over, because no one else was on the road. They are jumped out and looked at Sandy, scouting the sky about due west. Then they all turned to see.

There it was.

“Holy smokes,” was all Gary could manage. “Another asteroid.”

“No,” Nathan said, armed with what he heard on the radio. “It’s the same one come back around to take a bow. They call it Asteroid Apsínthion.”

It was roaring from, as far as Sandy could tell, a south-easterly direction and, though diminished, it looked huge as it disappeared over the horizon. “Sounds like a Greek name. Wonder what it means.”

Andy turned to them and lowered his head a bit and said, “Wormwood. Aspinthion is Wormwood.”

 

[Texican]

It is falling in place.

Thanks G.

Texican....

 

[sssarawolf]

Big thank you.

 

[Giskard]

16 b
​

Wormwood.

There are names from history that will evoke a sense of dread and Sandy marveled she now stood on the precipice of that singular introduction of one of the most feared events anticipated by man since penned by John late in the first century of Christ. She supposed there were ancient names mostly meaningless today, names ancient tribes shuddered to hear. From the first century, however, only a few were anticipated with dread. Hitler, Stalin, Mao… all much despised names, but they went the way all men eventually return; into the ground.

Antichrist, Armageddon, Wormwood… All names concerning the times in which they now found themselves. All dreaded names, a man, a place, an object. Something didn’t feel right to Sandy though. She’d missed something. She hurried back to the International and flipped on the dome light to see her Bible. She had a map in chapter 8 of Revelation because if you can learn the news in advance, maybe it’s an advantage. Or maybe not, because much of life is beyond our ability to anticipate or change. Revelation chapter 8:

6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

Okay, so the Seventh Seal was finally opened and the order sent out the seven angels with seven trumpets of judgment. One thing she notices was all these judgments destroy on a level of thirds, where the Seals were only a fourth. Only? She shook her head.

“What are you looking up?” Nathan asked from over her shoulder, startling her. She looked up and saw everyone had come over.

“It’s just. I don’t get exactly what’s going on. I mean, the Seals were some events, then it took some time for them to play out, which makes sense, I guess. People don’t starve overnight and diseases from corpses take some time. But listen to this…” She read the same portion of scripture before commenting, “So we definitely have lots of fire, I get that. Now we’re flying down the highway, full tilt and see Wormwood? That’s like, the Third Trumpet. That’s verse ten. So what happened to something like a great mountain burning with fire, thrown into the sea so it became blood? It wipes out a third of ships and sea life. What am I missing?”

Andy frowned as he thought. Then he looked at Gary, “What do you think? I’m thinking something big happened somewhere else in the world we haven’t heard about yet.”

Gary nodded. “Yeah, I mean, I’m with Sandy. I wasn’t thinking in terms of rapid succession either. I guess I thought there would be clear breaks between events.”

Nathan added, “A couple things are pretty clear. One, this ain’t T.V. with neatly laid out events so a viewer can watch things all in a row, one after the other, with commercial breaks.” Everyone nodded at this as he spoke.

“And the second thing?” Sandy asked.

“Oh. Yeah, Bible prophecy ain’t all about the good ol’ USA.”

“Both good points,” Andy agreed. “Maybe we need to listen in on the chatter, see what’s what?”

Sandy set the radio to scan. Immediately, they found themselves awash with frantic chatter. Radio protocols were out the window. People were simply jabbering over one another and sounding like feeding time at the kennel.

Andy said, “Try commercial.” By which he meant, the regular AM/FM radio.

First thing Sandy heard was sirens. Not the emergency vehicle type, but the big, wailing ones you would associate with tornados, tsunamis or maybe giant flaming meteors. The voice was not of the particular timbre and quality one would expect from a trained and seasoned news reporter. Sandy bumped the volume up.

“…any more of it. That’s all I can see folks. I mean, black smoke. Our affiliate in southern California tells us it is ash as far as the eye can see. Now, I talked on the phone to a producer there who in turn spoke to a producer out in Oakland. There is not much Oakland left, let alone San Francisco. Let me just say, sadly, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge is only partly up. Not drivable by any means. And that double stacked Bay Bridge that partly collapsed back in, what… Was it the nineties? Well, that one’s completely gone. It almost went when Yellowstone went, but once Mammoth Lakes popped off…”

“What!?” Sandy said.

“Did… Did he just say Yellowstone?” Nathan asked.

For the next few minutes all anyone could do was exclaim disbelief and incredulity. They paced nervous energy as they listened. Eva climbed into the back seat of the International and drew her knees up and hugged them. Andy had a large world map out, scratching his chin as he looked at it.

“Etna,” Andy said. “Did he just say Etna?”

“I think so,” Nathan said, turning the radio up more. “Since Etna blew, was what I heard him say. When did that happen?”

“Birth pains. Lots of birth pains a quaking,” Sandy said.

“Okay, so we have re-entered the path of that asteroid and either Wormwood was the asteroid or part of what was dragging behind, I don’t know,” Gary recounted. “Everything we are hearing is the Ring of Fire is coming unscrewed, plus Etna blew her top well and truly this time.”

“And tossed that mountain top into the ocean?” Andy wondered.

“Could be. That or a different one. Nothing would surprise me. Plus we had that massive caldera in Yellowstone blow…” Something like panic crossed Gary’s features.

Sandy asked, “What? What does that mean?”

“Dang!” Nathan said. “That’s right!”

“What!”

“I almost forgot,” Andy said, tracing on the map with is finger. “The Jetstream.”

“Please!” Sandy was exasperated. She felt as if the guys were speaking another language.

Nathan squared his shoulders at her. “We may be many hundreds of miles from Yellowstone, and thank God for that, but all that tossed up in the air goes into the Jetstream and gets carried probably all the way around the earth.”

“So,” she wondered, “Are we talking Ice Age or something? That’s not in the Bible, is it?”

“Not only is it not in the Bible, but don’t forget, the earth such as it now is, will not continue long enough for an ice age. Especially since it’s not finished burning.”

Andy’s words she found astounding. Sandy felt not just one step behind trying to keep up, but maybe about, oh, four or five steps behind.

Eva said, “Hey, guys?” And everyone looked toward the sound of her quiet voice. Funny how that amid the clamor and chaos it was a soft and still voice that cut through.

She stirred a little with everyone looking at her expectantly. “Where did you say we are headed?”

“Did I say?” Andy shook his head. “I’m sorry. I guess maybe I said East Tennessee. Why?”

“Isn’t that like on the other side of the Mississippi River?”

Sandy looked at Andy as his eyes flew wide open and he said, “Yeeess…?”

“That guy on the radio just said something about, let me see,” Sandy could see Eva concentrating on what she wanted to recount. “New Madrid, and Mississippi River flooding. He even said something about Memphis, Louisiana, and most of the middle of the U.S. now pushed into the Gulf. That sounds kind of bad.”

No chatter this time, but rather stunned silence as each of them shared wide-eyed looks. Andy shook himself off and consulted the map. Nathan paced and walked in circles, kicking at stones before walking over to Andy’s Mystery machine with his arms raised and pounded on it.

“Easy there,” Andy said.

“Sorry,” Nathan said, but he clearly was still rattled and responding out of habit. “I feel like, maybe this is what PTSD must be. It’s too dang much at once. I can’t wrap my head around…”

Sandy saw the same hangdog look on everyone’s faces. Maybe she wasn’t so alone after all. PTSD. Why not? And they had thus far stayed out of the main of it all, only riding on the fringes, either behind it or in front. Now, no matter where they went, this mess would always be around them. What must those people in the middle of it all the time feel like? Well, before long if not already, literally half of them are dead. If not yet, they soon would be. Satan and the Antichrist haven’t even gotten started yet, from what she could recall from Revelation.

Then her mind reluctantly went to the Johnsons and their grown kids and their families still out there in California. She’d been trying to avoid thinking about them. She had prayed and given their case over to the Lord. Was it a sin now, a lack of faith that caused her to worry? Should she not worry? Especially with all those California fault lines, fires, tidal waves, volcanos, fires, meteor showers… And she supposed now, lots of dead sea animals would be washing up on shore. What turns a sea into blood? Is it because of all the now dead sea life? She had learned in school that most of the planet’s life was in the ocean, up to three fourths of better.

“Okay,” Andy said. “Eva, good looking out. While the adults are out here freaking out, you had your ears on. We need to figure out which way to go. We can’t sit it out here. We need a couple sets of ears in the van, plus a couple here. Give it ten, fifteen minutes. All we’re looking for is word on where the destruction is and is not, if there is such a place. Everyone move!”

Everyone moved. Andy and Gary ran back to the Mystery Machine and Nathan joined Sandy and Eva in the International. Nathan had a pair of ear buds so he jacked in to the CB and scanned while Sandy and Eva listened to commercial radio. The difficult part of the task was sorting through the hearsay and conspiracy nonsense, while listening for facts. The rumors she put in her proverbial back pocket in case the same rumors kept popping up from different sources, indicating perhaps viable information. Gripping though some personal stories were, she had to suck it up and keep turning the dial. The personal stories were gut-wrenching stories of lost loved ones, destroyed and burning memories and personal loss on a level sure to drive her mad should she settle on a steady diet of them.

The news was, not surprisingly, horrific and still developing. Next thing she knew Andy had returned and Gary with him. Was the time up already? She felt on one hand like she’d just got started, which was odd, because in another way, the events felt decades long somehow.

“Who wants to go first?” Andy asked.

“I can,” Sandy said. “Um. First of all, the personal stories…”

Everyone alternately shook their heads and also nodded, acknowledging they’d heard some horrors of their own.

“Aside from that, the news stories are about, as we know, the west coast is toast, including San Francisco, and it looks like much of the west coast unzipped along the San Andreas and pushed some of California out there like a new island. Yosemite went kablooey at roughly the same time as Yellowstone went up. Not much news is coming out of the Northwest, you know, Idaho, Utah, Washington, Oregon or Wyoming. I also heard about the New Madrid fault that went up in the eighteen-hundreds looks to have hit a new high. The rumor mill is that a way crazy amount of the Great Lakes sloshed out or washed out or whatever, much of it slamming down the Mississippi River.”

Andy’s eyes flew open and he asked, “Did they give a time, or how long ago? Anyone get news of how Memphis is now, or… What about the water? Where is the flow now?”

Too many questions. Sandy said, “I… they only said maybe a couple hours ago. Why?”

“Okay, let’s see,” he seemed to be calculating. “That’s what… About seven-hundred miles or so from Great Lakes to Memphis, as the crow flies. How fast would water like that flow?”

Gary shrugged, “A tsunami out in the ocean might reach a couple hundred miles per hour or so, but that’s unhindered ripple. It would slow down once it hits land. Are you wanting us to outrun a Mississippi Tsunami?”

“Wait. What?” Nathan said.

“That’s crazy,” Sandy laughed entirely without humor.

“Think about it,” Andy said. “Assuming, yes, the water already down this way sloshed around a good deal, probably some river bank failures and yeah, some bridges. Okay, and I admit I know nothing about the terrain between here and there. But assuming we can get there and find a bridge, we could haul our backsides across and get clear and bug out toward East Tennessee before the flow hits.”

Sandy was pretty certain if the world were not burning and falling, burning trees were not crashing in their general vicinity, that she would be hearing crickets right now, so quiet was their little troupe. There was no punch-line to be delivered. No ‘Just kidding’ followed. Andy was serious.

“Look, even if the sluice or sludge or whatever was washing down at two-hundred miles per hour, we’re just… Well, let’s see. Not that far from Memphis. I say we go for it.”

“Easy for you to say,” Eva remarked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you’re one of those witnesses guys, right? You make it through okay, but what about us. You have a handy force field bracelet you can whip out of your pocket to shield the rest of us?”

“That’s actually a very excellent point,” Nathan observed.

“Let’s pray,” Sandy said, and they all turned.

“Now, there’s a novel idea,” Gary cracked.

“Forgive me my insensitivity, guys,” Andy said. “I don’t mean to sound cavalier and uncaring at all. I am hesitant too. You think I haven’t wondered whether a witness can be replaces so that the 144,000 number remains to the end, but maybe not all the same ones who started out? I know, it probably doesn’t work like that, but that doesn’t mean I can be reckless. It means I need to not in my hubris tempt God. I have to remain on mission and not presume upon Him. Besides, I really do love each of you and I would never intentionally put you in harm. And standing here for the duration is so not an option. Am I right?”

“Sandy, want to lead us in prayer, since you brought it up?”

No was what she wanted to say, for she still felt so awkward and new at public prayer. These friends were family though, so, here goes. “Father God we need you. You are sovereign and all things are in your hands. If you are not sovereign, it has been said, then you are not God. This is your very words you are working out. Your prophecies from ages past. None have ever failed. God, if you chose us before the foundations of the world, then that means we cannot surprise you or ruin your plans. Neither can these events. This is, after all, your judgment, Lord Jesus, upon a rebellious world that had rejected you.

“Lord, please protect your people. We understand some die for their testimony and this glorifies you. Some watching will turn to you because of these testimonies spoken unto the very death of these dear saints, we understand. But God, it seems a waste for me for your children to die pointlessly in a fire or a river, but what do I know. I know we know so little that we need your wisdom, gracious Lord. We need wisdom and ask you to unblock our path. Guide our way. Clear anything that would impede us in accomplishing your will for us and those with whom we are supposed to meet and may you be glorified rather in that. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

“Thank you,” Andy said. “Okay, if it is to be, it will be. Let’s consider options. What have the rest of us heard?”

Nathan said, “Wormwood. That sucker must’ve been really big because I thought it was lower when it went overhead, but it kept going and looks to have slammed into the Himalayas somewhere. Not much news coming out of Russia and China at the moment. After that, much speculation and not much else.”

“Same,” Gary said. “Other than that, the world is burning and shaking and folks are praying and cursing. Before we drive off to wherever we are driving off to, I’d like to read the rest of the passage, you know, for context of what is going on. I think the rest is mostly the results of what we’ve seen so far.” He caught everyone’s eye, and then read:

“’11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.

“’12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.’

“So what I think, for what it’s worth, is that the volcanos are spewing ash that is being caught up in the Jetstream and will be carried around the world, diminishing all light, from stars, sun and moon, by a third. Also, whatever Wormwood’s composition, it may have been cometary. “

“Which means what?” Nathan asked.

“Unlike many meteors, comets are frozen chunks of debris, but lots and lots of ice. That thing swung a good way around the planet before it came down. Who knows what the composition of the ice was as it burned and melted off, seeding over the entire world.”

“Wow, that’s a good point,” Andy nodded. “Something that is poisoning the water. That means only bottled or otherwise filtered water from now on for us. Good catch.”

“Thank you. So with that I’ll just say, if we’re going to go, let’s head out now. Reason being, the final verse in Revelation 8 says,

“’13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”’”

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you very much.

 

[Texican]

Just how close are the Final Days?

If President Trump wins the next election, the Final Days may be further off.

If Biden wins the election, the Final Days may be closer than we think.

Thanks G.

Texican....

 

[Giskard]

Just how close are the Final Days?

If President Trump wins the next election, the Final Days may be further off.

If Biden wins the election, the Final Days may be closer than we think.

Thanks G.

Texican....

Good question. Of course, Bible prophecy is not about the United States. For instance, if Trump wins, there could well and truly be civil war that could decimate the country, or at the very least keep us distracted. Let's play this scenario out:

Trump wins, counts and recounts and riots. Things get crazy and Soros spends more money here to bus in some riots. Eventually and with enough such sparks REAL civil war breaks out. This may or may not last many months, but while Trump and the rest of the nation are pre-occupied and distracted, Gog and Magog make their move across the border into Israel. We are too much of a mess to do anything. Israel's new peace partners (Saudis, et al) raise a protest but do not get involved, just like Ezekiel 38 says.

Another scenario if the USA is pre-occupied, we could play out a couple involving China vs Taiwan, the Koreas go up and Japan gets uppity as well. Or, the USA is so split and divided from within in their civil war, the Russians, North Korea or China decides to move in on us. Pick your poison.

That's the geopolitical. How about the natural?

What would happen to USA in global politics if the New Madrid goes and physically splits the US in half? Or, a more likely scenario, the Yellowstone Caldera goes up, which would also trigger the Yosemite/Mammoth Lakes Caldera.

Etc., etc. See what I mean?

 

[Daytonabill0001]

*Deleted*

 

[Giskard]

...

I know that it would be a surprise if any of those sort would even come here to read this story as it would attract primarily those who accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior. A Calculated Risk, you might say, but I wanted to share with my Family...

Well, thanks for trusting that with us and Sharing.

 

[Texican]

Thank you DB for sharing.

Texican....

 

[Giskard]

17 a​

“But I have questions!” Eva objected.

“Hop in. We’ll open the radios,” Nathan replied.

Sandy and Gary paired up in the international and Eva refused to leave the cool Mystery Machine with Nathan and Andy. At this point Sandy was not at all concerned with speed limit laws. She could rightly tell any LEO that she feared for her life. Though completely black outside, she had her International up to ninety-five. At ninety-seven she felt the old gal shimmy and didn’t want to press her good fortune, so she eased back off until the shimmy stopped, and silently prayed a tire wasn’t going. A blow-out at this speed might be a mighty rough landing.

Over the radio, Sandy asked Eva, “Okay, Eva, you said you have questions.”

“I don’t understand the Seals and Trumpets things you guys are talking about.”

Sandy could well relate. Although she had heard some of this in Bible discussions, caught a movie or two, each depicting things a bit differently. Cassie earnestly described events more than once, but it had seemed too much data at the time to absorb and catalog the order of events in her mind. Mostly she marveled at the enormity of those events and wondered at the veracity of the narrative from the scriptures. Well, wonder no more.

Gary said, “I’ll take a stab at it. Let’s see. To not make it too complicated, when John was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, Jesus came to him in a vision and told him to write down ‘the things that were,’ and that is the past of course, ‘the things that are,’ which is the church age from his time all the way up to the end. Jesus also said for him to write down ‘the things after’ the church age. Of course now we have had the rapture, but one way to know the church was not going to keep going and going forever on this earth is the very fact that Jesus says there are things he wants John to write that take place after these things.”

“So the church,” Eva asked, “is not now? There are no more churches?”

“Church really meant something he told the disciples he would build, made up of believers. What it ended up meaning is, not a building or several buildings, but one unified body of believers. You’ve probably heard that term before, right? In a letter Paul wrote, 1 Corinthians, he referred to all true believers as the church, the body of Christ, with Christ himself as the head. Since Jesus washed away sins, all believers became indwelt by the Holy Spirit, indwelt by God. Paul also called the believers during the church age, the temple, because all believers were where God indwelled. So to answer your question, after John wrote Revelation chapters two and three, there is no more mention of church, but of course there have always been false churches and false Christs.”

Eva was silent a minute, but then asked, “So… God doesn’t live in believers anymore because there is no more real church?”

“Whew. That’s a loaded question. Most will say no. There were believers all the way up from Old Testament days who were friends of God and believers, all the way up through the time of Jesus and they did not get indwelt by God, as a rule. Not permanently. To be fair, some say we today, you and me and the rest of us, we are all indwelt because we believe. They will say Jesus’ blood shed on the cross to pay for our sins is what makes us indwellable believers, and not a certain time frame we live in. The book of Revelation does seem to say we are sealed by God though.

“Here’s the thing. It doesn’t matter. We are His, just like Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, all those men and women were. Even John the Baptist is described as the best friend of Jesus, his best man. But, I think we are not church because the Bible says about the church that the dead in Christ rose first, then those who remained were caught up, that’s the word for Rapture, they were caught up to meet the Lord in the air. That’s in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. The dead in Christ means their souls are with Jesus, but their bodies are in the ground. They get their glorified bodies, then the living believers are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of the eye following that. That’s in 1 Corinthians 15 toward the end.

“What we are living in now is the time Jesus told John to write about after these things. Therefore, we conclude, there is an ‘after,’ after the letters to the seven churches Jesus sent letters by way of John. Those seven churches represent kinds of churches that existed, and also seven real church congregations that were around at the time. Also, they represent how the main church movement would be behaving throughout the over two-thousand years the church was on the earth.”

Sandy piped in, “I thought you didn’t want to make it complicated.”

“Sorry. But I figure Eva asked because the Lord thinks she can handle now and process over time. Am I right?”

Eva said, “I kind of get it. So the church is up in Heaven celebrating right now. I heard you guys talking about the bride of Christ. It’s like that Ten Virgins story where some went in because they had oil in their lamps, but the others didn’t get to because they were dumb and didn’t have oil.”

“Well. Foolish was the term in the gospels but, yeah. The oil represents the Holy Spirit. Those with the Holy Spirit went in.”

“So, we were with the foolish crowd and are locked out for now until the end of the wedding celebration.”

“It looks that way,” Gary said. “By the end, we all join him anyway, but that brings us to the place after the church age that Jesus told John to write about. In chapters four and five, John gets a vision, or maybe time-traveled… or both… to stand and see events right at the beginning of this mess. What God shows John is the Lamb of God…”

“Jesus,” Eva said.

“That’s right. Jesus takes a legal document John was familiar with from his day, written on a scroll. It has a wax seal that can only be broken by the one legally allowed to open it. It’s the Title Deed of ownership sealed since the time of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. There are seven seals on the scroll. Jesus breaks each seal and the judgment that follows each one is the wrath of God on a world that rejected Jesus. At the same time though, these increasing calamities are merciful God telling everyone it’s their last chance to repent and turn to Him.

“So, what we are seeing,” Gary said, “is the Seals were opened in due course, and the last of each of these judgments kicks of the next set, and there are three of them. In other words, the seventh of the Seal Judgments opens up the scarier and more severe Trumpet Judgments. The seventh Trumpet Judgment calls the third and final round of Bowls of judgment. That really is the last chance to repent. Did that answer your question?”

“And then some!” and everyone laughed.

After a silent minute Eva asked, “So there are no guarantees even believers make it to the end.”

Then after another minute of sober silence Andy cleared his throat and said, “There really never has been. The world has been under judgment since the Garden of Eden and believers have always died as a result of sin entering the world. I read in Revelation that at times God commands that those with His seal not be harmed, because those creatures He commands are directly His wrath. Yet, we also read about martyrs. Here’s what I get from that. People die. We could have an auto accident and die, in theory, right?”

“Right,” Eva said.

“Okay and we had a chance awhile back, actually more than on one occasion, of being shot by some bad guys. Also, since there are martyrs, Antichrist and Satan are granted permission to go after the saints. I like to think we don’t die directly as a result of the wrath of God. In other words, we are not the target or objects of God’s wrath, but we could die in a quake maybe or even a fire. Revelation 3:10 describes this as a trial, or tribulation, that comes upon the whole earth and those that dwell on the earth. Well, last I checked, that includes us.”

“The just shall live by faith,” Eva said. “My mom had a t-shirt that said that.”

“Very good,” said Andy. “Your mom’s t-shirt was correct. We go forward, like we are now, and trust God to sort out the details.”

“Because, either way, He’s got us,” she said.

“Either way He’s got us.”

 

[Giskard]

17 b​

Either time flew by, or as a result of mad driving, they came upon a stretch of road where they could see flashing lights up ahead in the distance. Uh oh. Nathan was the first to ask, “So how do we want to play this one?”

Andy said, “Let me scoot around. I’ll try the badge thing again and maybe they won’t look too close, or God will blind their eyes. Either way, I’d like an update and those fellas are likely to be in touch over official coms we aren’t monitoring. I’d rather know our window is as open as my calculations say. Also, I’d rather not get all the way to a bridge that’s fallen and have to turn around anyway.”

A trooper flagged them down on approach and Andy knew a nice, slow roll-in would be the best posture. The trooper, Mills, his tag said, was wearing a mask. He stood a good yard or so from the window and made a gesture for Andy to roll his window down. Two other troopers walked back toward the back and to Sandy’s International. That was where Sandy found that Andy had kindly left his mic open for them. She wasn’t sure what verbal cue she should be waiting for that would tell her to punch it or turn around or whatever. While one trooper stood to the front of her with his hand up in a “hold still” gesture, the other shined his light in the back of the Mystery Machine.

“Not many rigs running these days,” Trooper Mills noted, giving the van a once-over.

Andy said, “Yeah, it’s the good ol’ non-tech models that mostly fared well. What’s it look like ahead? Any getting through?”

Sandy couldn’t see him do it, but Andy must’ve brandished his shield, for Mills said, “Not much chance of that, officer. It’s about to get real deep, real quick.”

“You’re kidding me!” Andy hammed it up. “Can things get any crazier?”

“You should have been here about two hours ago. We had about a dozen of those flying saucer things fly over like they were being chased by the devil himself!”

“I’ll bet! What happen? They land somewhere ahead or what?”

“Naw, you won’t believe this but that last quake busted all hell out of dams and not only that, busted some fault lines between here and the Great Lakes.”

“The Great Lakes! But that’s all the way up, how many miles? And they think some slopped out, or what?”

“Brother, not only slopped out, but rushing down this way with God knows what pushed out in front of it. You ain’t seen muddy yet, but just wait. You got someplace you need to be?”

“Family. Just trying to get home. How long before the bridge washes out?”

Trooper Mills nodded at the other couple of troopers and they wandered back to the blockade. Then he looked at his watch. “There’s time left. Even at full bore a wall of mud and water takes some time. They’re evacuating as much of Memphis as they can right now, but all in other directions. The 40 got some damage and there’s no risking that bridge.”

“Oh no,” Andy said. “Short of an airlift, what can I do? Anything? There’s no outrunning it all the way to the Gulf of Mexico I guess.”

“Tell you what. Bein’s as how you got family and all, you know that service road?”

“That’s the 55, right?”

“That’s the one. They’re telling the public she’s damaged, but she’s well enough. Used for official channels, if you know what I mean.”

“Roger that. Think they’ll let us scoot over real quick?”

“Make it real quick, flash your tin and tell ‘em Mills said so. And I don’t know where you’re headed, but you will need masks almost everywhere. With the smoke, I ain’t complainin’ no-how. Got any?”

“I got some in the back I’ll dig out. Thank you and you be safe.”

“You do the same,” Mills motioned them on.

Andy rolled his window up as he moved forward and said, “And just like that…”

Nathan said, “Glad I wasn’t driving.” And everyone laughed a nervous sort of humorless laugh.

The last leg of that trip to the Mississippi was relatively smooth. Sandy was surprised there were not more checkpoints. On the other hand, she realized she shouldn’t have been surprised at all, what with the staff and vehicle shortages added to the rioting and looting. The riot prospect somewhat gave her pause because, what if they find their way blocked by rioters? Turn around? Run them over?

In the end, it was a non-issue. She didn’t know what retail outlets might be off the 40, but since they moved further south to the 55 service road, they really need not be concerned about looting and riots because so-called protesters and rioters always seem to assuage their anger upon shop windows, mollifying their hurt feelings with Nike shoes and big screens.

Andy in the lead, they did come to the modest blockade Trooper Mills advised them of and it turned out Mills had radioed ahead. Sweet! However, they now found themselves being warned off. It seemed that not far north a major wall was already pushing debris into town.

Andy got on the radio and said, “I’m a knuckle head. This is why I’m better suited to being a cop and not an engineer or physicist or whatever. Of course a surge is pushed ahead in advance. The quake happened all up the river. Not just at the Great Lakes. That was stupid. I’m so sorry.”

“But it looks clear now,” Nathan said. “I mean, the river is swollen but it’s not that long a bridge. Can we bring it to a vote?”

Andy was silent a moment before answering, “This fine officer says we can chance it if we like, and that he’d probably do it, but he cannot officially say it’s a good idea. What say you all?”

There were some not exactly enthusiastic voices in agreement to proceed, so they decided to go for it. They wasted no time, thanking the officer with some answering waves as they passed. They moved as quickly as they could and across the newer trestle bridge and only slowed at traffic signals on the other side, predictably seeing very little traffic, certainly not enough to worry about red lights. What do you do with traffic signals when there is no traffic? Normally, Andy would treat the intersections as a stop, but not this time. He wasn’t about to take chances. He knew the swells pushed ahead of the river could be high and God forbid they were stuck at a broken bridge or cracked road where water and mud could be flowing in behind and around the buildings.

Memphis is in low lands. It’s relatively flat. The roads would be channels for the flow and the intersections were legion. As Andy shared these thoughts and concerns they did run into some blockages from the quakes on two occasions and they thanked God for only two in a city as big as Memphis. They made for the quicker 40 connection just as quick as they could, the tornado warning sirens wailing all around them. It was eerie and surreal, which Sandy would have thought they should be used to by now.

On the way to the 40 connection Sandy remarked that she thought she heard gunfire. They rolled windows down trying to triangulate a direction, hoping to avoid whatever was going on. Through the smoky air they could just make out a commotion a couple blocks to their right. It looked to be maybe the National Guard firing on looters. Then coming out from between buildings they came. Not Guardsmen and not looters. These things were whatever that Turkey Flu virus thing leaves in its wake. Sandy felt like she was seeing zombies, but these were quick ones. They might be undead, but they were not walking dead.

They floored it and had to weave but made it through. Her heart was racing like she thought she might have a heart attack. “What in the world?”

“Everyone alright?” Gary asked.

“I think the National Guard might be trying to let those sick people wash out into the Gulf with the flood, but I don’t think they counted on so many,” Nathan suggested. “My guess anyway.”

Eva said, “Are we there yet?” And again, everyone laughed. They were beginning to really appreciate her ability to relieve tension in their number.

“I hope soon, because I do need to pee,” Sandy said matter of fact.

Andy responded, “When do you not need to pee?”

“After I have peed!”

“I think after that, we probably all need to pee,” Gary said.

They however did not stop, nor did anyone again suggest they do all the way through Jackson and on into Natchez Trace where they decided to regroup, pee, whatever. There were a handful of people there, mostly camping, but the campground was by no means full. They looked to be mostly refugees looking for shelter. Sandy waved a little money at the counter thinking what they wanted for a cabin was probably theft, until they got to the cabin. It was huge by cabin standards. She always pictured one big room with a kitchen and walls made of logs. This was not the case.

Eva stood in the center of it and spun around, “Can we live here?”

“Beautiful, isn’t it? Except for that crack in the corner, she looks to have held up pretty good,” Sandy observed.

“We’ll want to maybe take turns on this deck out here,” Andy said. “It looks like they battled one heck of a fire and there is still ash in the air, see? And over that way the sky is glowing. I don’t think that’s the right direction for the sunrise.”

Nathan was looking at a map, “Yeah, well, it looks like if we need to, we can go along here, or here. But yeah, I agree. I’ll take first watch. It probably would be wise to watch for the two-legged type of danger as well.”

“Now you’re talking,” Andy said.

Meantime, Sandy and Eva took the room with one bed while the guys scoped out another with two large beds, plus there was a sofa in the living room. Andy walked all the rooms, checked the windows and the elevation to all windows. He rigged some notched contraptions he had for door hinges that would work even if someone had a key and he pulled all the drapes closed. After everyone showed they had weapons close at hand, he dutifully checked them and made sure rounds were chambered, safety’s off and made sure everyone was aware.

Then he went out for some other gear including a scanner with an FM band as well. He tuned it low and manually scanned for chatter. Meantime, he also had a walkie plugged in and scanning, something he said was of a Homeland variety that should also pick up many smaller walkies plus municipalities. He encouraged the ladies to go first with showers while they still had power. The nice man at the counter had advised them power lately had been unreliable.

When Sandy came back into the living area, toweling her hair, the guys looked up and each gaze was somber. “What?”

Sandy’s worse fears were being realized. Though some reports were conflicting, it became clear that the Pacific Northwest was mostly gone. Yellowstone blew and if some of the other volcanos out there, for instance in Greece and Figi, were not the mountain top that was predicted to blow up and into the ocean poisoning it, Yellowstone could be. California was mostly immersed now. The Mammoth Lakes caldera went up in sympathy with Yellowstone, taking out Yosemite and surrounding areas. Not much of that state was left.

Washington and Oregon crumbled on the east and tsunamis in the Pacific had backwashed onto their shores on the west. All this triggered the major fault lines in California all the way down into Mexico. A huge swath of everything on the far side of the Dakotas was a blanket of ash at best. Forget Idaho, Utah, Montana… And the ash up in the Jetstream promised to circle the globe and create a nuclear winter. The sun was blackened and if you were in a good spot it might look like blood. Where they were currently with the fires and all, the moon was blood in Tennessee. She suspected that at sunrise, the sun would be cloistered about with dark ash.

Cities were falling to riots and looting. What the rioters were not burning, the brimstone meteor showers did. The entire world was burning and yet the Antichrist Koenig was claiming that though the devil may look to be trying to destroy the world, he was still successfully brokering peace during this time when humans now, more than ever in history, needed to band together and fight the ravages of war. He claimed God himself sent the asteroids and disasters because of His anger at war and man’s fighting one another, but now is the time to pull together, make peace and rebuild.

They learned that even now the Mississippi was washing the entirety of Middle America out into the Gulf of Mexico. Kiss Memphis goodbye and much of Louisiana as well. As of this very moment there literally was no way to get from one side of the U.S. to the other, for she was divided. Not even by air could one cross. All the smoke and ash had air traffic grounded.

Then the screaming began outside. Not just the quick, startled sort of scream one makes upon seeing a spider or snake. Not the brief, pained scream one will make after hitting a thumb with a hammer either. Also the quality of the screams was not simply the prolonged scream one might make when alight with fire after accidentally sloshing gasoline on his leg at a camp fire. No, these screams were many and were prolonged screams laced with what Sandy could only think of as shock and surprise, panic and mortification.

As one, they moved to the windows and pulled the draperies aside. People were running and shrieking in horror and with great pain. The campground fell into even greater darkness under the outside lamps, if that were possible. Sandy thought at first they were running in great waves of ash and smoke from perhaps an oncoming fire, but then she saw the movement of wings. Like black locusts they whipped this way and that, swooping in on running souls like great stalks of corn to be consumed.

Andy stepped back and said, “Close the curtains. Everyone back away.”

They did and looked at Andy. Pale Andy. His brow deeply furrowed, he recited:

“And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.”

“Revelation 9,” Gary said and Andy nodded in reply, his gaze still fixed upon the window to the outside from whence horrific screams radiated through the walls with the monstrous hum and buzz of thousands upon thousands of demonic wings.

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you, yes that part is scary at the end.

 

[Texican]

Thanks G.

Texican....

 

[Giskard]

18 a​

“Sandy,” Eva’s voice quavered.

The wailing shrieks from beyond the window held their gaze, but at the sound of Eva’s distress, she turned and held her close to her breast. Sandy squeezed her eyes against tears. No way should a young girl have to deal with these horrors upon horrors. Yet, as soon as the thought finished, Sandy had to admit to herself that her standard of measure was her own admittedly sheltered life and that many a young girl has endured worse. That didn’t mean she had to like it. Sandy silently asked God to forgive her. What wrath fell was not upon an undeserving and devoted people. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Yet as Eva shook in Sandy’s arms she admitted in her flesh she wanted no more. She wanted it just to end. Or she wanted a walled in castle or a bunker or maybe a suit of armor for this girl. Then, unbidden, a portion of the passage flooded into her mind like a silent scream. “…but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.” She knew the Holy Spirit had just gently scolded her. At least it felt like a rebuke for she suddenly felt naked in the presence of His holiness… Naked and filthy. She found herself again seeking forgiveness for her hubris in questioning an eternal and holy God who loved the unlovable.

Who was the first to observe and say, Life Is Messy? None come through life unscathed. Corruption in the world touches all. We were promised the best we could enjoy was a rose garden, thorns and all. Sandy found herself feeling simply bone weary. Not to make excuses for herself, but she was coming to realize the others must feel the same. She determined then and there to suck it up and get through it out the other side, however difficult. They were children of the King of kings and Lord of lords and had, literally, an unimaginable future before them. Thus armed in her mind, she returned to the present, set and determined.

Sandy gave Eva another firm squeeze and released her before turning back toward the window. “So five months, huh? We don’t have to stay here. The scriptures say we won’t be touched. We’ve taken months to get where we could have crossed in days. We have had quite a few God Delays. Maybe I should say God Appointments. So do we open the door and get out of here, or is there something here we’re supposed to do?”

All were looking at her and she could see them considering. Darned if she was going to be the one to decide though. Meantime, the commotion outside was palpable. Demonic locust stuff was now and then hitting the walls and windows, probably angry they did not have permission to come after them.

There were a couple of shouts outside, above the screams. A man and a woman? The woman was barking instructions maybe? They moved to the window to look. The sky was glowing more. Closer to sunrise. A woman and a man were attempting to lift a victim from the dirt road and help him up. They were not being harmed. They had to be believers! They turned and looked at them at the window and the man, sandy hair about thirty maybe, motioned them to stay. The woman with mid length light brown hair, his wife maybe, looked at them with worry.

They were struggling. Sandy made a decision after all. She moved to the door and Nathan yelled, “Wait!”

She stopped. “Wait for what? We can’t be harmed and they need help.”

Everyone looked at each other, eyes crazy-wide. Nathan said, “Are we really considering this?”

Andy began nodding and shrugged. “Sure. Why not? Sounds fun.” He moved in Sandy’s direction, but she was having trouble mustering the courage to actually fling the door open. What if they’d misunderstood the scriptures? Well. She prayed, ‘Lord, strength and wisdom, please. And lots of mercy.’

She opened the door.

Nothing happened at first. No swarm washed over them to sting and torment them. That was merely the first step. The couple outside had let go of the guy on the ground and stood staring at them with panic at first, followed by looks of relief and then to each other, smiles. The woman motioned them over with some urgency. No one could move at first. The creatures would keep coming to the door and hovering. Their bodies were covered in a carapace like beetles, but they were shiny as if slimy. Beastly little things. They stared at the saints with hate and disdain it seemed on their faces. It was like John tried his best to describe in Revelation:

‘7 In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, 8 their hair like women's hair, and their teeth like lions' teeth; 9 they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. 10 They have tails and stings like scorpions…’

Weird.

Andy said, “As they say in cheesy action movies, let’s do this.” He shouldered past Sandy but stopped a couple steps out and braced for an onslaught that of course did not happen.

“I know how they know not to touch you, but what about us?” Sandy asked.

Andy turned to her with a half grin, “Have you actually looked in a mirror lately?” Sandy thought about it. Actually, not for a couple days at least. Even after showering she grabbed a towel for her hair but did not look at herself. Probably because the dark circles and worry-lines around her eyes freaked her out so much the last time. She turned to look for a mirror but then noticed Nathan’s forehead, and Gary’s, then Eva’s. They had the same Hebrew yod symbol as Andy’s.

“How are they the same?” She asked.

Andy said, “Yahweh… Yeshua… The LORD and Jesus start the same yod character in Hebrew.”

Of course. Wow, how did she not put that together? She was awestruck, delighted and humbled at once. She stepped out to join Andy. The beasties, small followers of the Beast, regarded her with hate. Their creepy little faces made her want to punch them. When Andy moved down the steps to the fellow saints, brethren, Sandy followed.

Andy helped heft the man and said, “Name’s Andy. Where we taking him?”

She said, “Hi. Name’s Martha and this is Taylor.” To Sandy she asked, “And you are?”

“Sandy.”

“This way. To the group lodge.”

Sandy nodded to Taylor and they helped another man up. He was screaming but the beasties left him when they picked him up. He still screamed. He walked on his own, painfully. He still needed help.

The first thing Sandy couldn’t help but notice, frankly, was the TV was working! On the screen was smoke, fire, people running and looting. The sound was down so she could not tell what city or day she was seeing. She determined to catch up on that as soon as she helped get these folks settled. The lodge had bunks that they helped the men into. Taylor said, “Good thing the place isn’t full. This side we keep the men. There’s ladies on the other side. We got more men so we dragged a couple bunks over. I see y’all have a mark to. I’m guessin’ that’s why we ain’t stung.”

Andy gave them details on what the creatures were from Revelation 9. They knew they’d heard or read it before but could not recall where. They asked Andy if he could spend some Bible Study time with them and give them a run-down on what’s going on and fill in the details they did not know.

Martha had nursing experience and Taylor was a handyman. He helped with park maintenance. All in all, twenty-three unbelievers were at the park in torment. Two of those were in their own cabin and refused to leave. The beasties had not got to them yet but they were warned that the things were big enough to break windows, and that they weren’t going anywhere soon; five months, to be exact. Bullheaded though, they stayed put.

Sandy left Andy to head back to the group lodge by himself while she dashed to their own cabin to apprise them of the situation and of the working TV service there. See her before them well enough and the promise of news motivated them to venture out. The swarm had thinned, probably because the beasties had already nailed everyone they had permission to, so they went on to take their fury out on others elsewhere.

The news showed visuals, but the nonsense coming from the talking heads was probably why Martha and Taylor had turned it down in the first place. The spin was ridiculous. The Jews were being blamed for not cooperating to bring unity in the Middle East because they were rallying behind the Two Witnesses (they didn’t call them that though) and the radical Christian right was not joining “mainstream Christianity” in embracing a unity of faith with the Messiah, Lukas, bringer of peace and light.

Another good reason to turn the TV volume down was no one could stand to listen to his line of baloney. World leaders and masses of people were fawning over him in large numbers. He was busy blaming the scourge of black locusts on the Two Witnesses sent by the devil himself and promising they would soon be eradicated. He was also careful to lump the radical Christians with them since, observe, they go unharmed.

A cell video on another channel showed a UFO coming in close to the Two Witnesses until fire came from the mouth of one of them that consumed the UFO, causing it to crash and burn. The stations were no longer attempting to censor profanity, to Sandy’s surprise. Not since the vitriol and hate that began around the times of the 2020 election debacle had she heard such animosity from one group toward another. Nothing so much as a pretense from the media pundits desire to see the eradication of a group existed at all. They openly called for slaughter of each and every one who opposed Lukas Koenig.

Disturbing were the riots, as always. Mix in the Turkey Flu zombies in the streets, animal attacks depicted and the scenes were surreal, which was becoming an overused term, but there they found themselves. No add a dash of meteors, shake in some massive earthquakes, hurl in some fireballs… It was a B-Movie director’s dream. They did show UFO’s regularly and were still arguing their origin and what, if anything, they were contributing to either destruction or salvation. Skeptics were now guessing they were Koenig’s own secret Airforce operatives introduced for drama, flair and fear, for no one yet could prove they had seen actual aliens.

The plain fact was that the media was now in the tank for the Antichrist Koenig and not surprisingly vaunting him up with less and less criticism or otherwise negative statements, daily. People were probably too afraid to ask any longer what happened to their loved ones allegedly hauled away by UFO’s for re-education. You didn’t ask too many questions now. It is now far too easy to disappear into the night. And, by golly, Koenig just would’ve done so much more, faster, were it not for those rotten radical right groups. Something has to be done about them.

Sandy, Andy, Eva, Gary and Nathan all remained for a few days, sleeping in their cabin up the way but helping at the group lodge. The folks were in great torment and could not sleep except under deep exhaustion, fitfully. There were two attempted suicides. Their stings were swollen and the toxins changed their skin color and made for swelling throughout their bodies, really and it was difficult for them to keep anything down.

Through the torment the saints gave them the gospel. Two gals converted through tears and anguish at having ignored Christ in the past. When they converted their pain began to ease and they began to mend, but it was not immediate. Still, the others did not head their repentance and mending and remained bitter.

Sandy observed, “I guess they won’t turn to Jesus unless they are made to see. It sort of reminds me of that story of Israel in the wilderness when the poison asps were sent in to bite them all. God told Moses to craft a replica of an asp and raise it on a pole so that whoever would simply look at it would be healed. Still, many would not and they died. All they had to do was look at it!”

“Yeah, it’s a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ,” Gary said. “He became sin for us and died on the cross so that all who look to him might be saved. God was foreshadowing the Messiah for His people.”

Andy nodded, “True, and most rejected him too.”

The group lingered for many days, teaching and preaching the gospel. Martha and Taylor, knowing their little group had someplace to be, encouraged them to continue since there was precious little to do but make the unbelievers comfortable. The two new believers were achy but recovering enough they were eager to help, though they were still moving a little slow. In the end and after considerable cajoling they agreed to continue their journey.

 

[sssarawolf]

Thank you

 

[Butterfly]

Thank you!

Luke 21:28
“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

 

[Giskard]

18 b​

“Guys, we need to hustle,” Gary said. “I mean, Andy, I don’t know exactly where you are taking us, but I know we are literally only hours away, assuming smooth sailing, which I admit is not likely.”

Gary was riding shotgun again for Sandy and she had seen him fidgeting more and more as he read his Bible, now that they were back on the road. Eva was with them, which meant Nathan was riding shotgun for Andy. The team was making great time in that most of the fires had burned out. The skies were even trying to clear a bit. Now it just looked more like the smog Sandy was familiar with in Southern California. Hardly a soul was in sight as they barreled down the highway toward East Tennessee. They were not seeing many beasties, probably because they moved in swarms and only lingered in population centers.

For instance, in Nashville, they thought they were seeing a massive black smoke cloud moving across town. It was not until they got closer that they realized the cloud seemed to ripple and boil. When they got closer they saw the cloud, moving in a northerly direction across the highway, was actually a swarm of beasties. It was a benefit in that no rioters, virulent folk or any others were impeding traffic. They only saw a couple other travelers, probably saints like themselves.

The team made it almost all the way through Nashville, having to slow a bit due to visibility issues through the beasties. Then both the vehicles began stuttering before grinding to a halt. One vehicle was understandable. Both breaking was not coincidental. They chugged the vehicles to the side of the highway and Andy, Gary and Sandy got out. The beasties were everywhere? Andy rolled his eyes and opened the hood of the mystery machine.

What they had not counted on was that, though they themselves bear the mark of the Lord upon their foreheads and so could not be harmed by the beasties, they had not considered the little buggers sabotaging their vehicles. A couple beasties flew out, actually cackling, when Andy raised his hood.

“This is what happens with pride,” Andy noted. “Here I go, so proud we bear the mark of the Lord, untouchable by these demonic creatures, and did not consider they could get at us in other ways. Look at this!” Spark plug wires were neatly chewed through. They found the same in Sandy’s International.

Gary suggested they pray and so they did. They repented of pride in thinking of themselves as special, when it was the Lord who protected them. They asked Him to go before them and protect their journey and spent much time in prayer praising God for stepping in and judging the world that rejected the Son. They spent much time in thanksgiving for deliverance in His salvation. By the time they were done, the beasties had moved on. Sabotage, Sandy thought to herself, was not something she had ever considered.

Turned out that Andy did have an extra set of wires. Sandy did not, for they had left quickly and erroneously had not made a list of items to grab en route to provision them for something, well, not quite like this, but breakdowns on the road. They were not yet out of Nashville, which at this point had been the good news. That meant they could dig some cables up somewhere. While Sandy joined Andy in the Mystery Machine to scrounge some up, Gary, Nathan and Eva remained behind with the International.

They found a parts store but it was, like pretty much everything around them, locked up tight. They discussed back and forth about the morality or not of letting themselves in and helping themselves out, leaving a little cash on the counter. No, that did not justify breaking and entering. Down the road a little further they found another also locked up. Then they found a junk yard. Andy decided it was time to risk going online with a burner smart phone to grab the part number for the cables and what other vehicles shared the same specified cables.

The office to the junk yard was closed but they could see light flickering toward the back. It was the distinctive shifting of colors and movement that tell you it is a television, so Andy knocked. No answer. He knocked again, with authority in his voice, and yelled, “Police!” while taking his shield out. A bedraggled head peeked out the doorway and disappeared again, so Andy pushed Sandy out of view the other way should the man step out shooting.

The guy did not shoot, but came forward in a shambling walk, snugging some pants around his waist wincing with pain. Of course. The beasties had go to him. He motioned to Andy with his hand that he’s coming, clearly urging patience. She and Andy shared a sympathetic look. When he got to the door he looked this way and that outside, clearly concerned of the beasties, but seeing the two of them he was confident enough to unlatch the door and motion them in before quickly securing the door once more.

“What’s wrong, detectives?”

Andy did not correct him, but pressed forward, “We have a vehicle on the highway, our associates, and some of those critters chewed their spark plug wires. We’re on urgent official business and need to replace them. We’re hoping an upstanding citizen will help us. We’ll pay handsomely, in cash.

“No fooling.” He seemed dubious. “And you didn’t get stung?”

Sandy said, “There were only two that got under the hood. Maybe they were full,” she shrugged.

He nodded and Sandy was surprised he bought it. Andy handed him the part number he’d written off the phone. He nodded, “I got these, sure. They ain’t the new fancy ones made of platinum or anything.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Andy said has he pulled five twenty dollar bills from his wallet. That seemed to do the trick. A hundred is not much money, except when you need to eat and much of your clientele is dead and the living no longer have many running cars. Sandy was betting the guy lived in the back and this was his home. Food was probably scarce. She excused herself and slipped outside.

Sandy returned from the Mystery Machine with a can of spam, not her favorite, two cans of Vienna Sausages, Andy’s favorite, and a can of sliced pineapple. She latched the door and took them to the man who looked at her in disbelief when she set them on the counter for him. Tears brimmed his eyes.

“Why would you give me this?” he asked in wonder.

“You look like those stings have kept you on the couch a bit and I figured you hadn’t had the chance to shop. So we’re just trying to be neighborly.”

“I sure appreciate ya,” he nodded. He disappeared around some shelves, made some stirring sounds in a box. They heard something dump and he shouted, “I’m okay. Be right there.” He finally did come back around and handed the cables to Andy. “My eyes are still messed up from being sick. Can you see those numbers there?”

Andy looked and he smiled nodding. “Say, while we’re here, you have any idea why all this is happening?” He did not. By the time Andy got finished with him, he knew. He wanted to sit down because he was tired, but also emotionally overwhelmed. They helped him back to his sofa in the back where he wanted to pray and give his life to Christ. It was, as usual these days, bitter-sweet. Andy made sure he had a Bible, which he did, neglected on a shelf, and put a book mark in the beginning of John. Providentially, the Bible was his granddaddy’s and it was an old large print Bible he could see pretty well, even after the effects of the stings.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Sandy had some trouble composing herself. She struggled with a mix of emotions from pitty, to gratitude, anger at such wickedness in the world, yet thankfulness that God would provide in such a wondrous way.

She said, “Here I am complaining and fussing at the inconvenience of cables, upset at myself for my own pride because the seal was keeping us safe, feeling sorry for myself because we have to hunt down cables and cursing Satan because he let the beasties get at the cars. All the while, God is sovereign. He allowed the beasties to go after our cables so we could go hunting for others, so we would wander from door to door to find a lost sheep. I’m so busy thinking about myself half the time I forget too easy it’s about God and what He is doing that I have no clue about. I just never seem to learn.”

“You aren’t alone. I was doing the same thing. But now we have a new brother in the fold and an awesome story to share with the others. Some Bible devotionals you read, some you live."

 

[sssarawolf]

Very good, thank you,

 

[Texican]

G,

This is very probable due to what we are currently living thru.

Keep up the great work.

Texican....