Arrived (27 page)

Mark felt a sense of peace flowing, like the prayers of his friends were lifting him. Faces flashed in his mind— Judd's, Vicki's, Lionel's, Ryan's, and many others. He had fought the good fight. He hadn't done everything perfectly, and he had done some stupid things, but God had used him.

He knelt on the blood-soaked ground.
Holy ground
, he thought.
Ground soaked by the blood of the martyrs
.

Caleb's song came to him and he sang it softly. “‘Now by this I'll overcome—Nothing but the blood of Jesus, Now by this I'll reach my home—Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.' ”

With his eyes fixed on the ground, Mark breathed a final prayer knowing that at any second he would be in the presence of God.

“Into your hands I commit my spirit,” he whispered.

“Good riddance, Judah-ite,” Fulcire said.

A lever tripped.

Something clunked, and Mark felt the machine shudder as the blade plunged.

A millisecond before it hit his neck, Mark thought he heard rustling wings and singing.

Then a flash of light.

And he was in heaven.

27

FOR THE
next several days Judd moved around Petra in a fog. He kept replaying first meeting Mark and John at Nicolae High and all the things they had been through. Though Vicki talked openly about Mark's death, Judd found it difficult. He knew that frustrated Vicki, but it was taking him longer to accept the truth. Mark was gone.

As Vicki played with Kenny in their house, Judd took a walk to one of the high places and sat. He asked God to help him understand what had happened. Within minutes, an ovation arose in the distance. As Judd made his way carefully down the mountainside, he heard the voice of Tsion Ben-Judah echo off the rock walls.

Judd had heard from Lionel that Tsion planned to go live on international television with Chang's help. Judd wondered what Carpathia and his goons would think of that. Tsion was speaking to not only a million in Petra but billions worldwide.

When Judd arrived at the massive gathering, Tsion was already well into his message. He explained that the truth of God's Word was confirmed by the judgments and plagues. From the disappearances to the hail and fire, the burning mountain that fell into the sea, to the demonic locusts—all these and more were proof that God's Word was true.

“… Two more judgments await before the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ,” Tsion was saying to the people and a nearby camera. “Hear me! The Euphrates River will become as dry land! Scoff today but be amazed when it happens, and remember it was foretold. The last judgment will be an earthquake that levels the entire globe. This judgment will bring hail so huge it will kill millions.

“I am asked every day, how can people see all these things and still choose Antichrist over Christ? It is the puzzle of the ages. For many of you, it is already too late to change your mind. You may now see that you have chosen the wrong side in this war. But if you pledged your allegiance to the enemy of God by taking his mark of loyalty, it is too late for you.

“If you have not taken the mark yet, it may
still
be too late, because you waited so long. You pushed the patience of God past the breaking point.

“But there may be a chance for you. You will know only if you pray to receive Christ, tell God you recognize that you are a sinner and separated from him, and that you acknowledge that your only hope is in the blood of Christ, shed on the cross for you.

“Remember this: If you do not turn to Christ and are not saved from the coming judgment, this awful earth you endure right now is as good as your life will ever get. If you do turn to Christ and your heart has not already been hardened, this world is the worst you'll see for the rest of eternity.

“For those of you who are already my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world, I urge you to be faithful unto death, for Jesus himself said, ‘Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested. … Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.'

“What a promise! Christ himself will give you the crown of life. It shall be a thrill to see Jesus come yet again, but oh, what a privilege to die for his sake.”

Judd sat on a rock and thought about Mark. He had earned the crown of life! Even now he could be in the presence of Jesus, worshiping and praising God. Judd missed the next few moments of Tsion's message, then focused on the man's words as he spoke of things to come.

“Now I must tell you there is also bad news,” Tsion said. “The wrath of the evil one will reach a fever pitch from now until the end. There will be increasing demands for all people to worship him and take his mark. To you who share my faith and are willing to be faithful unto death, remember the promise in James 5:8 that ‘the coming of the Lord is at hand.'

“Oh, believer, share your faith and live your life boldly in such a way that others can receive Christ by faith and be saved. Think of it, friend. You could pray to be led to those who have not yet heard the truth. You may be the one who leads the very last soul to Christ.

“Second Peter 3:10-14 says that ‘the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

“ ‘Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

“ ‘Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.'

“I urge you to imitate our Lord and Savior and say with him, ‘I must be about My Father's business.' ”

As Tsion continued, Judd felt a new resolve to serve God. No matter what it cost him, no matter where he had to go, he wanted to be about God's business.

Tsion urged viewers to visit his Web site for more information and to decide for Christ. “The most wonderful news I can share with you today is that God has prompted us to use the brilliant minds and technology we have been blessed with here. Anyone who communicates with us via the Internet will get a personal response with everything you need to know about how to receive Christ.

“Yes, I know the ruler of this world has outlawed even visiting our site, but we can assure you that it is secure and that your visit cannot be traced. We have thousands of Internet counselors who can answer any question and lead you to Christ.

“We also have teams of rescuers who can transport you here if you are being persecuted for the sake of Christ. This is a dangerous time, and many will be killed. Many of our own loved ones have lost their lives in the pursuit of righteousness. But we will do what we can until the end to keep fighting for what is right. For in the end, we win, and we will be with Jesus.”

Tsion's words warmed Judd's heart, and as he walked home he prayed for the people who would see the broadcast and who hadn't accepted the mark of Carpathia. He believed everything Tsion had said, but there was still an ache in his heart about Mark.

Lionel saw Judd a few days after Tsion had spoken and called him over. “You don't think Mark's death is your fault, do you?”

Judd winced. “I know I couldn't have done anything to save him, but I don't understand why he was so stupid.”

“He saved the others. That wasn't stupid.”

“Not that. The way Mark was, going with the militia, doing stuff without thinking about the consequences.”

“You mean you're upset because he was so much like you?” Lionel said.

Judd stared at him.

“I'm serious,” Lionel said. “Mark was always doing stuff without talking with others, getting an idea and running with it. Sometimes it worked out. Sometimes it didn't.”

Judd shook his head. “Maybe I'm mad because he didn't change.”

“And maybe this whole Baghdad thing—that you didn't get to go with Captain Steele—has something to do—”

“It's not that,” Judd snapped. He turned away and looked at a row of screens with people typing messages. “You know what really ticks me off? That God let it happen in the first place.”

“Okay, so that's who you're really mad at.”

“Why does he allow his followers to die like that? Thousands have been executed by the GC. Thousands! And God just sits there or stands or whatever.”

“Remember when my uncle André died?” Lionel said. “I thought I had a good chance to tell him the truth. I was ticked off at God for a long time about that.”

“How'd you resolve it?”

Lionel scratched his head and patted the stump of his left arm. “Same way I resolved this. There are some things I'm just not going to understand. God lets some things happen that don't make sense, at least to me. But I guess part of faith is believing that God is still on the throne and that none of this is taking him by surprise.”

Judd sat and heaved a sigh. “When I was little one of my uncles died. He was a strong Christian and used to take me on sailing trips on Lake Michigan. I couldn't understand how God could let such a good guy get cancer and die. I still don't see any sense in it, even though I believe God's there and really does care.”

“I like to think that God was so near to Mark at the end,” Lionel said, “that Mark could have gone through anything. It's clear from the communication from Fulcire that Mark didn't give them a thing.”

“Though the reporters said he blabbed everything.”

Lionel clicked on the computer and pulled up messages from readers to Tsion Ben-Judah's Web site. Tsion had allowed Lionel and the others to put a section for the Young Trib Force there, and Vicki had written a tribute to Mark.

“Mark worked so hard on different parts of the Web site,” Lionel said, “and there are people who are believers today because of what he did. And if he were here right now, I think he'd want us to keep doing everything we can to reach out to people.”

“That's my goal too, but there's something else that's come up since his death.”

“What's that?”

Judd lowered his voice. “Vicki and I want to be in Jerusalem when the final war starts.”

“You're crazy.”

“We want to make life miserable for those GC troops that'll try to overrun the city and then be there when Jesus comes back and wins the battle with only a few words.”

“You're both going to get killed.”

“So, if that's what God wants …”

“Don't let your anger at Fulcire and his goons make you go off the deep end. When the GC get here, they're going to unleash everything they have. If you're in the way—”

“I have to be in the way,” Judd snapped.

Lionel rubbed his neck. “You haven't seen the video from Baghdad yet, have you?”

“I wasn't invited to see it.”

Lionel caught Chang's attention and asked if he could show Judd a clip of the conference. Chang showed Lionel where to find the file, and Lionel pulled it up on the screen. “This is the creepiest thing I've seen from Carpathia. And if he's going to be in Jerusalem when the end comes, it's one place I don't want to be, and I don't want you to be. I hope seeing this will help you change your mind. If Vicki's going with you—”

“Just show me the video,” Judd said.

“All right, but let me set it up. Captain Steele and the others put bugs in the conference room where they knew Nicolae and his cabinet would meet. Before his heads of state got there, Carpathia hinted to his top people that something big was up.”

“More beheadings of believers?”

“No, though that's happening. He said he wanted to introduce his people to a trio who would help accomplish their goals. Leon Fortunato and the others begged to hear more, but Carpathia wouldn't tell them. Then when they had their big meeting … well, let me just show you.” Lionel fast-forwarded the video. “I'm showing you this so you know what kind of evil you're dealing with. Are you ready?”

Judd nodded and prepared himself for the worst.

28

VICKI
walked into the tech center and spotted Judd looking over Lionel's shoulder. Judd still hadn't been able to talk much about Mark, but she was trying to be patient.

“Hello, Mrs. Thompson,” Chang said with a smile.

Vicki couldn't get used to hearing the words
Mrs.
Thompson
. It made her feel old. “Please call me Vicki.”

Judd waved Vicki over and explained what they were watching. He seemed more excited than he had for days as he told her what was happening on the screen. Lionel started the video over, and Vicki stared at the surprisingly clear footage.