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a cute, athletic brunette--sat chatting while their preschoolers played in the park. They had met nearly a year before but had never been to each other's home or socialized outside the park.
That's why Irene was taken aback when Jackie seemed nervous. "I want to ask you something, Eye," she said, using her unique nickname for Irene.
Raymie was at the top of the monkey bars, so Irene
couldn't look away. "Sure, shoot."
"You happy with your church?"
My church? Irene didn't know what to say. She shrugged. "I guess. Yeah. It's big. Lots of stuff for the kids."
"You and your husband real involved?"
"No. We just go Sunday mornings. Rafe has been on some outings with the men. Fishing. A Bears game.
A golf tournament."
"And you?"
"The women have a circle something-or-other," Irene said. "We collect stuff for inner-city moms." Raymie was on the ground now, so Irene stole a glance at Jackie, who still seemed self-conscious. "Why, Jackie?"
"Oh, nothing. I just thought if you weren't happy at your church, if you were looking for something more or different, you might want to try ours. It's called New Hope."
Interesting name, Irene thought.
"It's smallish," Jackie said. "Just a couple of hundred people is all. Nondenominational. Just a bunch of born- again Christians trying to get other people to heaven."
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Aha, there it was. No wonder Jackie had been ill at ease. She said her church was nondenominational, but she was sure sounding like a Baptist.
"Nope," Irene said. "We're happy. But I'm glad you like your church."
Jackie seemed to relax, as if she had fulfilled an obligation and could get back to being a friend. Oh, she was still on a religious riff, but she must have been in more of a comfort zone now. She went on and on about how she had finally found peace of mind, a reason for living, knew why she had been "put on this earth. I know why I'm here, what my purpose is, and where I'm going."
Irene didn't want to pursue it, despite the fact that she was dying for her own answers to those very questions.
After several days Nicolae thought he would go mad. He tried to mark the time by gouging the ground with a stick every sunrise. His hair and beard grew; his pajamas became tattered. He feared he was wasting away. Time and again he called out for the figure, finally screaming maniacally for hours, "I will die of hunger!"
Nicolae lost all track of time, not sure whether he had missed a day or two or added marks too often. At the end of a month he lay in a fetal position, his bones protruding, his teeth filmy. He rocked and wept, willing himself to die.
Hours and days passed long after he believed the forty days were up, until he despaired of ever being rescued.
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He slept for long periods, waking miserable, filthy, trembling, utterly surrendered to his fate. He had had a good run, he told himself. At twenty-four he was already one of the most promising, revered men in the world. He didn't deserve this.
Irene had to admit that her relationship with Jackie-- limited as it was to the park, anywaymhad begun to fray. Jackie was nice enough, and there was no question she was earnest. But she was now raising spiritual issues every day, and it was only Irene's politeness that seemed to encourage Jackie and convince her this was okay.
But it wasn't okay. She was meddling now, invading Irene's comfort zone. Yes, some of the things Jackie said nearly reached Irene's core. But mostly she felt threatened, insulted. That was the trouble with people who took this stuff too seriously. It was as if their way was the only way. It wasn't good enough for them that you were a Christian and a churchgoer. You had to be their kind of believer. Next thing you knew, you'd be rolling in the aisles, speaking in tongues, and getting healed.
Irene began to clam up when Jackie broached the subject, and finallymfinally--Jackie must have noticed. "You don't have to come to my church, Eye," she said. "Just know you're welcome. Our pastor preaches and teaches straight out of the Bible. Your church teaches salvation, doesn't it?"
Irene shrugged, not hiding her pique. "We're going
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Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins to church because we believe in God and want to go to heaven."
"But that's not how you qualify for heaven," Jackie said. "It's not something you earn. It's a gift."
Here we go again. Irene changed the subject. And Jackie backed off, at least temporarily. At home though, during those few minutes she had to herself, Irene could think of nothing else. Could it be? Heaven as a gift and not something you earned? It made no sense, but if it was true...
Irene knew her body language and tone had reached Jackie when her friend talked about everything but the issue the next couple of days. Irene determined not to raise it, despite her curiosity. No, it was more than that. It had become a hunger, a thirst. While she could have lectured Jackie on friendship and manners and diplomacy, Irene set that aside and thought only of the potential truth of her friend's point.
The fact was that Irene's church did not emphasize salvation. It was assumed they were all Christians, all on their way to heaven, all doing the best they could in a modern world. That there was something more, something deeper, something more personal, a way to connect with God... Irene could only pray that Jackie would get back to that subject. If Irene brought it up, she could imagine the floodgate of earnest sermonizing to which she would be subjected.
From somewhere, Jackie must have developed some sensitivity. For when she did get back to the issue, she rightly assessed where Irene stood. "I care about you,
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Eye," she said. "And the last thing I want to do is to insult you or push you away. If I promise to never bring this up again unless you ask me to, can I just give you a piece of literature and leave it at that?"
Irene was moved. She was so taken by Jackie's new approach that she had to be careful not to let the pendulum swing too far the other way. She was tempted to assure her friend that she wasn't offended, that she appreciated her concern, and that yes, she had a thousand questions.
Was it pride that got in her way? She didn't know. Irene affected an air of caution. "Okay," she said quietly. "That's fair." And she accepted the brochure. In truth, she couldn't wait to get home and read it.
Finally, at long last, the robed man reappeared. Nicolae tried to muster the strength to attack, to harangue, but the spirit again lifted a finger and shook his head. "Are you the chosen one?" the figure said.
Nicolae nodded, still believing he was.
"Look around you. Bread."
"Nothing but stones," Nicolae rasped, cursing the man. "If you are who you say you are, tell these stones to become bread."
"You mock me," Nicolae said.
The spirit did not move or speak.
"All right!" Nicolae shouted. "Stones, become bread!" Immediately the rocks all around him became golden
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brown and steaming. He fell to his knees and lifted one to his nose with both hands. He thrust it into his mouth and began to devour it. "I am a god!" he said, his mouth full.
Rayford was on an overnight flight. Chloe was sleeping over at a friend's. Raymie had been asleep for a couple of hours already. Irene sat before the TV, her favorite program holding no interest for her as she fingered the tract Jackie had given her. It was short, simply written. Religious sounding. Full of Bible verses. And yet she sensed it contained answers. Was she kidding herself, playing mind games?
The thing promised a personal relationship with God through His Son. She had heard those words all her life and had run from them. They sounded weird, made no sense. But now, for some reason, they seemed to beckon her. She did not feel close to God.
Irene felt unworthy. The idea that she had been born in sin, was a sinner, had always repulsed her. Now it seemed to reach her. Something deep within told her it w
as unfair to hold against God what had become of her brother and her dad. If what the Bible said about her was true, did she deserve any better? In fact, she deserved worse. She deserved death herself.
The Bible verses reached her. She turned off the TV and read over and over the ones from the first chapter of John: "He came into the very world he created, but
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the world didn't recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are rebornmnot with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God."
The tract urged the reader to receive this rebirth and be saved from sin. Irene suddenly wanted this more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. Acts 16.'31 told her, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved."
"Are you god?" the spirit said.
Suddenly Nicolae stood at the top of the temple in Jerusalem, warm bread still in his hand. "I am," he said. "I am that, I am."
"If you are, throw yourself down and you will be rescued."
Shuddering, wasted, standing barefoot in tattered silk, Nicolae felt full of bread and full of himself. He smiled. And threw himself off the tower of the temple. Hurtling toward the rocky Temple Mount, he never once lost faith in himself or the promise of the spirit. Twenty feet from impact he began to float, landing on his feet like a cat.
Irene could not stem the tears. How do I do this? She read the brochure again and again. Could it be this easy?
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Confess to God that you are a sinner. Ask Him to forgive you. Receive His gift of salvation through the death of Christ on the cross. And then you are saved?
She shuddered, pushing conflicting thoughts and doubts from her mind. Irene was smart enough not to be swayed solely by emotion, but something was happening to her. She was thoroughly convinced that God was reaching out to her. She slid off the chair onto the floor and knelt, something she had never done in her whole life.
Suddenly Nicolae and the spirit were at the top of a mountain, barefoot in the snow. The air was frigid and thin, and Nicolae felt his chest heaving, fighting for enough oxygen to keep him alive.
"From here you can see all the kingdoms of the world." "Yes," Nicolae said. "I see them all."
"They are yours if you but kneel and worship me, your master."
Nicolae dropped to his knees before the spirit. "My lord and my god," he said.
Irene was aware only of the ticking clock on the mantel over the fireplace. She imagined Rayford walking in on her or one of her kids seeing her like this. She didn't care. "God," she said aloud, "I know I'm a sinner and need Your forgiveness and Your salvation. I receive Christ."
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When Nicolae opened his eyes, he was back in his bed. That the experience had been real was borne out by his own stench and filth and ratty garments. He staggered from his bed and noticed a sheet of paper under the door. It was in Viv Ivins's flowing script:
Shower, change, and come down, beloved. Barber, manicurist, masseuse, and cook are here and at your service.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Jerry B. Jenkins (www.jerryjenkins.com) is the writer of the Left Behind series. He owns the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild (www.ChristianWritersGuild.com), an organization dedicated to mentoring aspiring authors, as well as Jenkins Entertainment, a filmmaking company (www.Jenkins-Entertainment.com). Former vice president of publishing for the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, he also served many years as editor of Moody magazine and is now Moody's writer-at-large.
His writing has appeared in publications as varied as Time magazine, Reader's Digest, Parade, Guideposts, in-flight magazines, and dozens of other periodicals. Jenkins's biographies include books with Billy Graham, Hank Aaron, Bill Gaither, Luis Palau, Walter Payton, Orel Hershiser, and Nolan Ryan, among many others. His books appear regularly on the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists.
He holds two honorary doctorates, one from Bethel College (Indiana) and one from Trinity International University. Jerry and his wife, Dianna, live in Colorado and have three grown sons and three grandchildren.
Dr. Tim LaHaye (www.timlahaye.com), who conceived the idea of fictionalizing an account of the Rapture and the Tribulation, is a noted author, minister, and nationally recognized speaker on Bible prophecy. He is the
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founder of both Tim LaHaye Ministries and the Pre- Trib Research Center.
He also recently cofounded the Tim LaHaye School of Prophecy at Liberty University. Dr. LaHaye speaks at many of the major Bible prophecy conferences in the U.S. and Canada, where his prophecy books are very popular.
Dr. LaHaye earned a doctor of ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary and an honorary doctor of literature degree from Liberty University. For twenty- five years he pastored one of the nation's outstanding churches in San Diego, which grew to three locations. During that time he founded two accredited Christian high schools, a Christian school system of ten schools, and Christian Heritage College.
There are almost 13 million copies of Dr. LaHaye's fifty nonfiction books that have been published in over thirty- seven foreign languages. He has written books on a wide variety of subjects, such as family life, temperaments, and Bible prophecy. His current fiction works, the Left Behind series, written with Jerry B. Jenkins, continue to appear on the best-seller lists of the Christian Booksellers Association, Publishers Weekly, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the New York Times. LaHaye's second fiction series of prophetic novels consists of Babylon Rising and The Secret on Ararat, both of which hit the New York Times best-seller list and will soon be followed by Europa Challenge. This series of four action thrillers, unlike Left Behind, does not start with the Rapture but could take place today and goes up to the Rapture.
He is the father of four grown children and grandfather of nine. Snow skiing, waterskiing, motorcycling, golfing, vacationing with family, and jogging are among his leisure activities.
IN ONE CATACLYSMIC MOMENT
S AROUND THE WORLD DISAPPEAR the suspense of the end times for yourself. The best-selling Left Behind is now available in hardcover, softcover, and large-print editions.
1
LEFT BEHIND
A novel of the ealh's lust dgys o o o
2
TRIBULATION
FORCE
The continuing drama of those left behind...
3
NICOLAE
The rise of
Antichrist...
4
SOUL
HARVEST
The world takes sides...
5
APOLLYON
The Destroyer is unieashnd ...
6
ASSASSINS
Assignment:.
Jerusalem,
Target:. Antichrist
7
THE
INDWELLING
The Beast takes possession...
8
THE MARK
The Beast rules the world ...
9
DESECRATION
Antichrist takes the throne...
10
THE
REMNANT
On the ak of
11
ARMAGEDDON
The cosmic battle of the ages...
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OVELS Created by a leader in the graphic novel market, the series is now available in this exciting new format.
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THE RISING
The first book in, the countdown to the Rapture
STREET DATE
COHNTDOWN TO THE RAPTHRE
BOOK 2
COMING 11.15.05
COHNTDOWN TO THE RAPTHRE
BOOK 3
COMING 6.6.06
HE
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