Kingdom Come - The Final Victory (12 page)

“Raymie Steele? His mother is Irene?”

“Exactly.”

She shook her head. “What a heritage. As I said, my story is not so colorful. Sad to say, however, I was eighty before I became a believer.”

“Really? You were actually an unbeliever that long, with the background you had?”

She nodded. “It might be more precise to say I was undecided. I could not doubt that Jesus was the Lord and the Son of God and God. I just didn’t know what I wanted do about it.”

“Surely your parents raised you to understand the faith.”

“And my need, yes. I felt terrible about my indecision. But there was a stubborn, selfish, prideful side of me that would not give in.”

“Did you fake it, or did your parents know?”

“They knew. I never hid my feelings. I had a huge problem with my free will. I didn’t want to
not
have a choice, and so I vowed I would choose on my own in my own timing.”

“Did you know you had only until you turned one hundred?”

“Of course. That was my parents’ biggest fear—that I would remain resolute too long.”

“What changed your mind?”

“Friends. A few felt the same way I did, or at least I thought they did. They took their resolve further than I did. I was sincere in wanting to decide for myself, to not just inherit my parents’ faith. I was not a scoffer. I didn’t criticize or turn against Jesus. I just wanted my own way, to live for myself. And I thought I understood the consequences. How this terrified my parents. They tried everything, reminding me that it had been their hard hearts that had caused them to miss the Rapture and have to endure the Tribulation. It was only by the grace of God that they survived till the Glorious Appearing.”

“But your friends . . .”

“They were hostile. They didn’t study or investigate or even think about it after a while. They made fun of the devout, and they refused to acknowledge Jesus at all. Have you heard of the Other Light?”

“Oh yes.”

“Some of them moved to other parts of Europe so they could join that. They not only chose against Christ, but they also chose for Lucifer. It was as if he became their hero, like a martyr who wasn’t dead but only temporarily bound.”

“But don’t they know his destiny?”

Ekaterina stood and paced. “That’s just it, Mr. Williams.”

“Kenny.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that. If I’m going to work for you . . . I mean, not that I’m saying I know I’ll get the job . . .”

“It’s all right. Call me what you wish.”

“I’ll tell you what: if you call me Kat, I’ll call you whatever you wish.”

“You’re on, Kat.”

“Anyway, that’s just it. They have delusions of grandeur. They actually believe they can become so organized and widespread and strong that they can change the course of history.”

“Even if they die hundreds of years before the final conflict.”

“Imagine that,” she said. “But again, this is where they’ve become so idealistic. They
want
to be martyrs to their cause. They find that glamorous. One told me she believed that if they did their jobs and passed down through the generations their doctrines and their war plans, Satan would actually win and have the power to resurrect them so they could rule with him.”

Kenny stood and leaned against the table. “That’s a new one for me. I suppose they’d have to sincerely believe that to continue in their lunacy.”

Ekaterina nodded. “Eventually that’s what changed my mind. I found that the more of my friends who found the Other Light attractive, the more repulsed I was by it. My hesitation over Jesus was all about me, myself, my pride, my ego. I didn’t want to give up the reins of my life. For my friends, it was that they had actually become the Lord’s enemy. They read the same Scriptures I did, heard the same stories, and came to opposite conclusions. They came to believe that Lucifer got a raw deal, that he hadn’t really done anything bad enough to be treated the way God treated him. They actually started praying to him. None of them ever claimed to hear from him, but the very idea terrified me. To be casting your lot with and praying to the enemy of God, locked away somewhere in the bowels of the earth for a thousand years . . . like you say, it’s lunacy.”

“So that changed your mind?”

“Well, sort of. That’s the best part.”

“
NOW
RISE
,
BRETHREN
, ” David said, “and let me bless you.” He mounted the steps and gathered the men in an embrace. “God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, so His way may be known on earth, His salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth.

“Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. Amen.”

“Amen,” Rayford said. “And thank you.”

“And now is there anything I can do for you, sir?”

“For me?”

David chuckled. “The king of Israel is speaking to you, servant of God.”

“Forgive me. I do have a question about another close friend and confidant of ours.”

“The Jordanian.”

“Yes.”

“As a natural, he will be of tremendous value to the efforts against the Other Light. He and his wife will be relocated to their homeland.”

“I hate to lose them.”

“Only temporarily. There are many centuries to go, you know. And I’m sure you’ve already learned to trust the Lord’s wisdom.”

“Of course.”

“That request was easy. Anything else I can do for you?”

“Yes, actually, there is something.”

“Name it.”

Rayford began to tell David of the Children of the Tribulation ministry.

“I know it well,” David said. “How can I help?”

Rayford told him how the daily highlights were the stories from the Bible. “The children plead for these above refreshments, above games, above singing.”

“Indeed?”

“They love the stories and demand to hear them again and again.”

“And . . . ?”

“I can’t help but think what an unspeakable thrill it would be for them, for us, for everyone involved, if . . . oh, I can’t give it utterance. It’s too much to hope for.”

“You of little faith,” David said. “You have not because you ask not.”

“Very well. Just imagine if their heroes were there in person to tell their own stories one day.”

“Who?”

“Noah.”

“Done.”

“Really? Seriously? I—”

“I have spoken. Who else?”

“How many dare I ask for?”

“Test the limit of your faith.”

“Joshua.”

“Done, and I shall send Caleb with him. Who else?”

“You.”

“With pleasure. I wonder what story of mine they might ask for. . . .”

The men laughed.

“I am more than grateful,” Rayford said.

“Go in peace.”

“Tell me, Kat,” Kenny said. “You’ve brought me this far.”

“I found myself in my room, sitting on my bed, praying for my friends.”

“And you were not yet a believer yourself.”

“Not really, no. Ironic, isn’t it, to pretend to be still holding out, all the while knowing whom to plead with for the well-being of my friends? Funny thing was, Jesus, as close and ever-present as He had always been, wouldn’t speak to me. I had learned verses as a child. How could I not? So I knew the problem. The Scriptures say that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” I was hardly righteous, and so regardless how fervent, my prayers were anything but effective. So—”

“They didn’t avail much.”

She smiled. “They availed nothing. But the exercise was good for me, because while Jesus wasn’t speaking to me, He was impressing something deep within me. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the fact that I was no better than my friends, regardless the reason for their disbelief. In fact, I was no better than Lucifer himself. I can see by your look that you feel I’ve overstated it, Kenny. But think about it. I was guilty of the very thing that got Lucifer cast out of heaven. I wanted my own way. I may not have said I wanted to be God or imagined myself bigger or better than He is. But I wanted to be the god of my own life, and that usurped His right and His authority.”

Kenny was moved. “Only God could have taught you that.”

“My feeling exactly. I came to the conclusion that He may have been silent, but He was still communicating. I suddenly saw myself for what I was—a self-possessed sinner in desperate need of forgiveness and salvation. I knelt on the floor, and you know, that didn’t seem low enough. For my whole life I had held Jesus at bay. I lay flat on the floor, weeping, pleading for forgiveness, and committing myself to the Lord forever. He has been with me ever since, and I have never looked back or regretted it.”

“And your friends?”

“Two actually became believers. Three others I am still praying for, but they are totally enmeshed in
TOL
. I know God is sovereign, but in the flesh, I am nearly out of hope.”

“He allows them to make their choices.”

“And it seems they have.”

Kenny was tempted to tell her of his and his friends’ plans to try to infiltrate and thwart
TOL
at some level. But for the same reason Raymie and the others were slow to embrace the idea of Zaki’s bringing in a new face, he decided to wait.

Rayford couldn’t quit talking as he rushed up the causeway back toward his home. “Irene thought she would miss Indonesia, and of course she misses many people, but she has so quickly found a home helping with
COT
, which she just loves. Now to have to tell her that we have a new assignment—”

“Closer to home than Indonesia, anyway,” Chaim said.

“Well, that’s true, but then when I tell her that our heroes of the faith will be coming to share with the kids their own stories in person, well, she’ll want to be here for that and—”

“Rayford,” Chaim said, “slow down. I am not 150 anymore. And could one of us get a word in? We were silent long enough in the presence of the prince.”

“Yeah,” Rayford said, “sorry. Could you believe that? An audience with King David himself?”

“We were there, partner,” Mac said. “Now just stop a minute and take a breath. We’re gonna scoot a mile past our valley and have to backtrack.”

At the end of the day, Kenny found it hard to concentrate on what Raymie wanted. He had called the Millennium Force together at one end of the property, and all Kenny wanted was to report to his mother his enthusiasm for the new recruit.

Zaki actually asked whether he should bring Qasim.

“Are you serious?” Raymie said. “He’s who we’re discussing.”

“We’re going to vote then? Because you know what I’ll say. He’s ready. He’s perfect for the assignment.”

Raymie held up a hand. “Zaki, let’s use a little discernment here and remember that you and I were the only ones among us who chatted with him.”

“I know, but Bahira and Kenny trust us, don’t you? We liked him. I mean, if there are more formalities, let’s get him in here so everybody can be as sold on him as we are, and—”

“I’m not sold on him, Zaki,” Raymie said.

“Neither am I,” his sister said.

“You weren’t even here, Bahira.”

“I wish I had been. Then we
could
vote. And it would be two to one against. What was your concern, Raymie?”

“Everything. He’s young, immature; he doesn’t look right, doesn’t comport himself appropriately. He talks too fast and too much. And frankly, I don’t like what he has to say. He didn’t do himself any good talking about his own conversion. He used all the right words, but they seem just rote to him. And he didn’t do himself any favors trying to summarize his own ministry. I don’t think he’s led one child to Christ in all the time he’s been here.”

“To be fair,” Kenny said, still wishing they could wrap this up so he could make sure his mother hired Ekaterina, “he has been confined to the recreational division.”

“Even rec counselors lead kids to the Lord occasionally,” Bahira said. “You’d almost have to work at it not to.”

Zaki sat shaking his head. “You’re going to blackball this guy. I can’t believe it. How am I going to tell him?”

“You shouldn’t have invited him in the first place,” Bahira said. “Then you wouldn’t have to tell him anything. You should have just suggested we get to know him and check him out without suggesting or implying anything. If he’s disappointed or offended, it’s only because you overpromised.”

“Okay, I’m sorry if I thought he would be perfect for us. Guess he can call off his trip.”

Kenny stole a glance at Raymie.

“What are you talking about?” Raymie said.

“He’s going to France in a few days, determined to infiltrate and bring us a report. Don’t you want that?”

“He won’t be going under our auspices,” Raymie said. “And you’d better be sure he says nothing about us. Kenny has made some inroads with the Jospin brothers, and we have to be careful not to compromise that.”

Zaki looked embarrassed.

“What?” his sister said. “I know you. Tell me you didn’t mention the Jospins to Qasim.”

“Well, I didn’t know! Who else was he supposed to try to observe there? If he’s not looking for someone, how would he even get in?”

“Stop him,” Raymie said. “He mustn’t go. If he’s determined to infiltrate some
TOL
cell, there are plenty of others.”

“You want to brief him first?” Zaki said. “Make sure he doesn’t give us away?”

“No! I want him not to even think he’s going on our behalf, because he’s not.”

Zaki sighed. “He’s not going to be happy.”

“That makes two of us,” Bahira said.

Kenny’s mother was preparing to leave when he finally reached her.

“I need to hurry,” she said. “You’re invited to your grandfather’s to hear of his audience with King David today.”