Times of Tribulation: Christian End Times Thriller (The End Times Saga, #7) (2 page)

The chance for Texas to secede came eight years later when President David Collins, who had declared a dictatorship after the previous election showed that he lost by a large margin, effectively became the last President of the United States when he died in office from a supposed stroke. Michael Evans took Collins’ place, even though he wasn’t in the order of succession or even a politician. Within a week of the death of the President, the Texas legislature and the governor offered up an amendment for the voters on whether Texas should leave the Union. The argument was that the federal government had failed, which would cause the whole country to collapse, so the state government didn’t want Texas to fail too. The state had plenty of energy and food producers, and its economy was as large as some countries, which would enable the state or businesses to buy whatever they needed without interference from Washington.

The vote was set for March, just in time for Texas Independence Day, and it would be the first time in a long time that Pete and Janet looked forward to voting. Most of the time, they skipped voting, especially in national elections, because they refused to vote for the lesser of two evils, and usually the Conservative Party fielded a very weak candidate. The Robertson’s usually voted in local elections, since the candidates they voted for usually won.

“What do you think, Pete, should we vote for Texas to leave the United States? I’m leaning towards a yes vote.” asked Janet.

“I think we should. If we don’t, Texas’ economy will be dragged down with the American economy when it finally hits bottom, even though we don’t really participate in it. If Texas were to go on its own, I’d be more comfortable with that government, since we the people have to vote on everything. I’m wondering if Governor Pierson will run as the President or if she’ll transition from being Governor to being President, and then call for an election to vote for President of Texas. I guess we’ll have to see.”

Even though a majority of the state’s population was already solidly for secession, Governor Pierson went on television and her press conference was also streamed live online to make the case, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I come to you today because we need to make the decision to leave the failing union of states known as the United States of America.

“Nearly two hundred years ago, the Republic of Texas ceased to exist because they joined the United States for a variety of reasons, but now, those reasons do not apply. With the federal government’s all but official collapse, it has started dragging everyone down along with it. Some states are seeing cities fall, even burning to the ground in some cases, their people are starving, and some even have a United Nations military presence in the larger cities. So far, with the exception of a plague that happened to our state a few years ago, none of that’s happened here, and I hope to God it never will.

“We have the means to go our own way with hardly any serious effects to our economy or our way of life. The legislature and I are committed to your Constitutional rights that the American founding fathers envisioned and we will begin dismantling the federal government’s heavy hand as we go along. We can only make our new Republic strong with your help, so please vote on this important issue, even if you completely disagree with it. Thank you for listening and may God bless Texas.”

Two months later, the vote for secession passed with eighty-five percent of the vote, with nearly every eligible voter having exercised their right to vote. There was not a peep from Washington as Michael Evans could’ve cared less, since his goal for the United States falling apart had succeeded.

Pete was thrilled with the overwhelming of the voters to secede. He told everyone in his community, “Now, we’ll just have to see how this all shakes out and if it bodes well for all of us. I hope Pierson and her successors are really for liberty and not just more of the same tyrannical control freaks that we’ve had for the past thirty plus years. In the meantime, we’ll continue doing what we’ve always done.”

Chapter 2

A few months later, in California, mega church preacher Ryan Whittier was still in charge of his large congregation. His church and his satellite churches around California hadn’t been rounded up by the Department of Homeland Security when the government agency began finally going after larger churches once they finished rounding up the congregations of smaller churches. Having had a business relationship with Michael Evans sheltered Ryan from the round up, but also being a preacher who taught that there were many ways to Heaven and to God also helped him, since he so rarely offended people - from the political class to the lowliest of his congregation. Ryan enjoyed the fame and fortune that came with no one important being offended with his sermons, and he vowed he’d do his best to hold on to that fame and fortune.

Kevin Josten and his wife had invited Ryan’s family to go with them to Dubai for vacation, but Ryan felt it was his duty to stay in California so he could help everyone as the state suffered from the effects of the collapse of the United States. As he told Josten over the phone, “Honestly, I don’t care if people suffer, I just want them to remember that I was the one who helped them through these difficult times. That’s because if I ever have a chance to rule over these people, I’ll already have their adoration, since they’re completely convinced that I’m the only who knows the only way for them to go to Heaven when they die.”

“Well, I have almost all the money from my followers, so I figured now would be a great time to go on vacation to one of the most expensive places on Earth, so my wife and I can enjoy ourselves without being pestered with inane problems from my congregation. Sometimes, it helps to get away and recharge. Well, anyway, good luck with leading your flock through these tough times. Talk to you later.”

Ryan’s main church was having a fellowship when about a dozen adults of the five hundred who had shown up suddenly disappeared. Their clothes, jewelry, eyeglasses, contacts, and various artificial body parts fell to the ground where they originally stood, which shocked everyone around them. While Ryan hadn’t personally seen them disappear, some of the adults who had witnessed the disappearances ran to him, and asked what was going on. One asked, “Did we miss the Rapture?”

Before Ryan could answer what he thought was a ridiculous question, one of the ladies who’d been watching over all the children under five, came running into the fellowship hall, apparently beside herself, and was crying. She rushed over to Ryan, and said, “They’re gone. They’re all gone!”

“Who?” asked Ryan.

“The.... the children, that’s who.” She replied, with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Every single one of them vanished before my very eyes, leaving behind nothing but clothes. Do you know what’s going on?”

Ryan was about to reply when he heard some of the people around him start saying they were left behind because the Rapture just happened. He thought it was a ridiculous notion, it was all he could do to keep from rolling his eyes, but he was going to put a stop to such an idea as quickly as he could. He could also see the parents of the missing children discussing amongst themselves about wanting to go investigate the nursery and some of the men were holding on to their distraught wives.

“You know, in my opinion, the Rapture more than likely happened thousands of years ago, around the 70’s A.D., because everyone knows that the book of Revelation was fulfilled then, so such an event couldn’t possibly happen now. Besides, the Bible is an allegory, most of it isn’t to be taken literal. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation and whoever’s in charge when it comes to things like this will tell us when they find out. Now, if you’re one of the parents of the missing children or related to an adult who’s missing, I’ll meet with you to help you get through this obviously painful experience, the rest of you can go home if you’d like.”

After counseling those who needed it, he went home and rested. It took a lot of energy for him to act as if he cared, but he had to keep up appearances. His wife usually leaved him alone when he was in one of those moods. He wanted the power that Evans had promised him so long ago, but he had yet to see any fruit from that promise, and it frustrated him to no end. Because of this, he continued to preach and counsel people he didn’t really care for, just so he wouldn’t miss his big break. There were times he wondered if Evans had forgotten about him, and all attempts he’d made when it came to contacting the old man had usually failed. While Ryan did enjoy the money from his job and the fame that came to being the “Preacher to the Politicians,” he yearned for more.

All over the local news, Ryan saw that some aircraft had crashed near LAX, but the reasons were currently unknown. There were also reports on the various highways around Los Angeles of driverless cars that caused major wrecks, making cars and their drivers stranded in hours of backed-up traffic. Distraught parents were interviewed about their missing nursery-aged children, and there were pregnant women, some happened to be in labor, who were now no longer pregnant because their unborn children had also disappeared. If his conscious hadn’t been seared now that God’s grace was gone, he would’ve felt sorry for the women.

Three days later, one of the local television stations contacted Ryan. “Hello. This is Ryan Whittier, how can I help you?”

“Mr. Whittier, hello, this is Sandra Gilliland, from KTLA. Do you have a moment to speak with me?”

“Yes, but what’s this about?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to come down to the station for an interview about the disappearances and your reaction to the news about our new world leader who claims to know what happened to these people. Are you available?”

This was three days after the Rapture, so Ryan’s heart had been hardened because of his rejection of Christ and his memory of the disappearances was foggy to say the least, but he replied, “Sure, I’ll come down there for an interview. I haven’t really heard about this new world leader, but I’ll find out what I can before I get there. When would you like me to show up?”

“You know we have a local talk show that’s on at 4 pm, correct?”

“Yes, is that when you’d like me to appear?”

“If you don’t mind, Mr. Whittier,”

“No, I don’t mind. I’ll see you then, Miss Gilliland. Goodbye.”

“Thank you. Goodbye, Mr. Whittier.” the two hung up.

Ryan took the time to do a little research before the interview. He went online and searched for news stories about the new leader. By re-watching the announcement that was taped earlier, he found out that Evans had helped a man named Jahangir Karimi become the new world leader, much to Ryan’s annoyance, since he wanted that kind of power. Ryan watched Evans give his explanation about what was going on with the disappearances and then introduced Karimi, the leader of Iran, as the new world leader. Karimi explained what he was going to do as the new ruler of Earth, explained the new economy, and then said he was going to meet with the new religious leader who will lead the new world religion. At the end of the broadcast, it was reported that Evans died of a heart attack shortly after the speech.

Ryan was curious as to who pundits thought the new religious leader would be, so he searched online for information. The search brought up unverified reports about Kevin Josten, saying that he was the lead choice for the new role of High Priest in this new world religion. This news angered Ryan, since he should’ve been up for that position too, but he’d heard nothing about it, and he felt he should have known something.

What did Kevin do to deserve that? Here I am, with over two dozen spin-off churches, leading these people astray, and what thanks do I get? Just because he has that goofy, toothy, used car salesman of a smile, loads of charisma, and makes millions more than me? It isn’t fair!
Ryan thought, as he slammed his fist on the desk, resisting the urge to start throwing and breaking things in his office.

Ryan calmed down by the time he arrived at the television station for his interview. He took his seat next to Sandra Gilliland, and she began the interview, “Today I welcome Reverend Ryan Whittier to the KTLA studios. Thank you for coming, Reverend,”

“Thank you, and please call me Ryan,”

“Okay, Ryan. Now, I was wondering what your thoughts were about the disappearances and the explanation that came from our new world leader about it being aliens,”

“Well, once upon a time, I would’ve dismissed the idea of aliens, since I used to think we were the only sentient life in this galaxy. However, the idea that these Centurions took away the haters so we could have peace, harmony, and unity makes sense. With the haters gone, we’ll finally be able to achieve world peace and all humans will be united under one government,”

“So you don’t think those who disappeared were, what was it called, uh, Raptured? Which, for those of you out there that don’t know, is when Jesus calls for his followers to come to Heaven shortly before something called the Tribulation happens,”

“No, no, that’s a silly notion. If the book of Revelation were true, then I believe that happened in the first two centuries after Christ. John, the writer of the book, was explaining what happened to people back then, not some far off future. Heck, Israel no longer existed by then, so if anyone is supposed to go through some supposed Tribulation, it would be the church. So far, I don’t see any evidence of a Tribulation, and as far as I’m concerned, Patriarch Karimi knows what’s really going on,”

“Do you think these Centurions will bring back the children they also took?”

“Yes, but only when we achieve peace, harmony, and unity,” Ryan sincerely believed the lie now.

“What do you think of how they’re setting up the new world government?” asked Gilliland, as she read her notes.

“With the United States having failed and California struggling to stay afloat, I think having an administrator over North America is a good idea. The new economic system should be easier to deal with than the kind we have now. I applaud the Patriarch for taking action immediately. I think he’ll make an excellent world leader,”