The Left Behind Collection: All 12 Books (396 page)

“Lack of faith,” Chaim said.

“Surely not. Not you. The Lord has brought us too far, showed us too much. Can there be any doubt that He will appear and rescue us at the appointed time?”

“But what is that time, brother? Chang’s people tell me the Unity Army has cleared the western slope for a rolling armada with Carpathia himself in charge.”

“All the more reason to believe Messiah is coming soon. He will not fail us, will not break His promises. Antichrist cannot prevail, and the closer he comes, the sooner we shall be delivered.”

“I believe that, Eleazar.”

“Of course you do. So what troubles you?”

“Things have been left unsaid.”

“By you?” Elder Tiberius said with a twinkle. “I cannot imagine it.”

“I wanted to explain the imagery of the Glorious Appearing. Tsion and I both have spent so much time insisting on a literal approach to the Scriptures that I fear I have neglected some of the clearly symbolic references in the Glorious Appearing passages.”

“Perhaps there will still be time,” Eleazar said, “but why don’t we discuss it outside? The Lord may get here before you do!”

“But I must make notes.”

“Do you want to be in here scribbling when it happens? Bring pen and paper with you, Chaim, but come, please!”

For months Enoch had hidden his car a few blocks from the home where he lived in the cellar. He never turned on lights upstairs, and the basement windows were boarded over. The neighbors in Palos Hills never saw him out in the light of day because he would have been unable to hide the fact that he did not bear the mark of loyalty to the potentate. He sneaked in and out of the seemingly abandoned house in the wee hours of the morning.

But now here he sat in the high-fenced backyard, hearing neighbors quizzing each other, discussing the astronomical phenomena in panicky tones. What would they think of strangers invading, gathering in his yard? Would they take the time and trouble to check and see if he and his friends were renegades, fugitives, outlaws? Would there be time for the neighbors to put them to death?

Since the neighbors had to assume his place was uninhabited, nothing else would arouse suspicion in the dark. Why would they have to assume anything about him or his people?
Ah,
he thought,
that’s naive. What would we all be doing here?

Mac had a clear view of the latest Unity Army maneuver, and he had to hand it to the leadership. Someone knew how to fix a problem. Whether it was Carpathia or one of his henchmen, the plan was working. The thousands from the front lines who had begun storming up the western slope found the going impossible and had already moved south, then west, then back northeast again, and had begun reinserting themselves into the ranks.

Meanwhile, the quarter-mile-long and fifty-foot-wide corridor had opened before Carpathia’s private unit—and also about fifty yards behind it. He and his people were transferring to rolling stock. A convoy of ten vehicles was maneuvered into position, trailed by two carriers of heavy armaments. If Mac had to guess, he would say Carpathia would lead the charge, the munitions right behind, and that the rest of the army—other than those on horseback—would bring up the rear.

From where Mac sat, it was obvious that under other circumstances Petra wouldn’t have had a chance. They were unarmed and outnumbered three or four to one by only a third of Carpathia’s total fighting force. Unity Army vehicles could easily traverse the terrain, and the front line of this new unit could be on the other side of the walls of Petra in less than half an hour.

Mac called Chang. “You able to crack into Carpathia’s communications yet?”

“Almost. I can pick up everybody but him, but I’ve got a rapid decoder screaming through it, so it shouldn’t be long.”

“Patch it through to me as soon as you get it, hear?”

“You got it. Rayford wants the same.”

“Roger.”

Rayford waited at the base of the hill, facing the Unity Army about ten degrees south of the opening that had been left for Carpathia’s unit. Rayford was virtually ignored as the rest of the troops had quickly become aware of the VIP in their midst. All eyes were on Nicolae.

Rayford’s plan was to fall in with Carpathia as he swept past, hoping not to attract attention. That would have been sheer folly aside from what had already occurred. The Unity Army had finally seemed to concede that they had no power on the perimeter against the meager defense. Why they thought they had a prayer inside Petra itself, given their futile history against God’s people, was a mystery. Carpathia’s ego knew no bounds.

Enoch’s fears proved unfounded. His people were sly enough to appear silently in twos and threes, and they found their way to the backyard without drawing notice. The neighbors drifted to their own homes eventually anyway, and Enoch was left in the yard with more than forty of the hundred or so that had joined him at the mall that morning.

They gathered around his chair and sat in the grass, no one seeming to grow tired of gazing at the cross adorning the horizon. “Come, Lord Jesus,” several whispered, and others joined in. “Come, Lord. Come soon.”

“Everything that’s gonna happen is going to be over there, right, Pastor?” a young man said.

“Over there?”

“In the Holy Land. You said Jesus was going to fight for the Jews in Petra first, then save Jerusalem. How we gonna know when He’s come?”

“Well,” Enoch whispered, “the Bible says the whole world will know when He comes. Revelation 1:7 says, ‘Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.’”

“How’s He gonna ’complish that? Holy Land’s on the other side of the world.”

“Don’t you think they’re seeing what we’re seeing now?”

“I guess, but like when the moon is out, people over there see the other side of it, right?”

“They could be seeing the other side of this cross too. We have no idea how massive it is.”

“Or if there’s more than one,” someone said.

“How’s that?” Enoch said.

“God can do what He wants, right?”

“Right.”

“He could put ten crosses in the sky to make sure ever’body sees one.”

“But there’s only one Jesus.”

“Yeah, but He can show up anywhere He wants, all at the same time. Just like He was only one man but He died for everybody, He can appear to everybody too.”

“Now you’re talking,” Enoch said.

“Is He gonna kill a bunch of people here, like He is over there?”

“I’m afraid He is. If they’re working for the Antichrist, they’re in serious trouble.”

“Rayford, you should see this from where I’m sittin’,” Mac said.

“I kind of like where I am,” Rayford said.

“Yeah, but it’s pretty. The red-stone city is lit from the cross above, and I feel like I’m in one of those blimps that used to hover over the football stadiums at night. Everybody’s just about in place, ringing the top of Petra. In front, people are sitting so the ones standing behind them can see. Most of ’em’ll be able to see the Unity Army attacking and the Lord returning. I hope He gets here soon.”

“I imagine He’ll be right on time, don’t you?”

“I imagine. I can see Chaim and the elders makin’ their way to a spot where most everybody can see them. You gotta wonder if anybody is scared to death out there on the edge.”

“I would be, and I’ve lived through it all.”

“Me too, Ray. Guess it’s human nature to feel like you’re testin’ fate one time too many. Hey, looks like Chaim’s addressin’ ’em. I’m gonna see if Chang can patch us in—oh, he’s way ahead of us. Here it is. Talk at you later.”

“. . . and sisters in the Messiah,” Chaim was saying. “We gather here in this historic place, this holy city of refuge provided by the Lord God Himself. We stand on the precipice of all time with the shadow of history behind us and eternity itself before us, putting all our faith and trust in the rock-solid goodness and strength and majesty of our Savior.

“May the Lord appear as I speak. Oh, the glory of that moment! We stand gazing into the heavens where the promised sign of the Son of Man radiates before us, thundering through the ages the truth that His death on the cross cleanses us from all sin.

“Within the next few minutes, you may see the enemy of God advancing on this fortified city. I say to you with all the confidence the Father has put in my soul, fear not, for your salvation draweth nigh.