Had he been wrong all along?
Two hours before the burial, David Hassid was called in to Leon Fortunato’s office. Leon and his directors of Intelligence and Security huddled before a TV monitor. Leon’s face revealed abject grief and the promise of vengeance. “Once His Excellency is in the tomb,” he said, his voice thick, “the world can approach closure. Prosecuting his murderer can only help. Watch with us, David. The primary angles were blocked, but look at this collateral view. Tell me if you see what we see.”
David watched.
Oh, no! he thought. It couldn’t be!
“Well?” Leon said, peering at him. “Is there any doubt?”
David stalled, but that only made the other two glance at him.
“The camera doesn’t lie,” Leon said. “We have our assassin, don’t we?”
Much as he wanted to come up with some other explanation for what was clear, David would jeopardize his position if he proved illogical. He nodded. “We sure do.”
EPILOGUE
“The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”
Revelation 11:14
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
JERRY B. JENKINS, former vice president for publishing at Moody Bible Institute of Chicago and currently chairman of the board of trustees, is the author of more than 175 books, including the best-selling Left Behind series. Twenty of his books have reached the New York Times Best Sellers List (seven in the number-one spot) and have also appeared on the USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal best-seller lists. Desecration, book nine in the Left Behind series, was the best-selling book in the world in 2001. His books have sold nearly 70 million copies.
Also the former editor of Moody magazine, his writing has appeared in Time, Reader’s Digest, Parade, Guideposts, and dozens of Christian periodicals. He was featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine in 2004.
His nonfiction books include as-told-to biographies with Hank Aaron, Bill Gaither, Orel Hershiser, Luis Palau, Joe Gibbs, Walter Payton, and Nolan Ryan among many others. The Hershiser and Ryan books reached the New York Times Best Sellers List.
Jerry Jenkins assisted Dr. Billy Graham with his autobiography, Just As I Am, also a New York Times best seller. Jerry spent 13 months working with Dr. Graham, which he considers the privilege of a lifetime.
Jerry owns Jenkins Entertainment, a filmmaking company in Los Angeles, which produced the critically acclaimed movie Midnight Clear, based on his book of the same name. See www.Jenkins-Entertainment.com.
Jerry Jenkins also owns the Christian Writers Guild, which aims to train tomorrow’s professional Christian writers. Under Jerry’s leadership, the guild has expanded to include college-credit courses, a critique service, literary registration services, and writing contests, as well as an annual conference. See www.ChristianWritersGuild.com.
As a marriage-and-family author, Jerry has been a frequent guest on Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family radio program and is a sought-after speaker and humorist. See www.AmbassadorSpeakers.com.
Jerry has been awarded four honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Dianna, have three grown sons and four grandchildren.
Check out Jerry’s blog at http://jerryjenkins.blogspot.com.
DR. TIM LAHAYE (www.timlahaye.com), who conceived and created 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 founder of both Tim LaHaye Ministries and The PreTrib Research Center. Presently Dr. LaHaye speaks at many Bible prophecy conferences in the U.S. and Canada, where his current prophecy books are very popular.
Dr. LaHaye holds a doctor of ministry degree from Western Theological Seminary and a doctor of literature degree from Liberty University. For 25 years he pastored one of the nation’s outstanding churches in San Diego, which grew to three locations. It was during that time that he founded two accredited Christian high schools, a Christian school system of ten schools, and San Diego Christian College (formerly known as Christian Heritage College).
Dr. LaHaye has written over 50 nonfiction and coauthored 25 fiction books, many of which have been translated into 34 languages. He has written books on a wide variety of subjects, such as family life, temperaments, and Bible prophecy. His most popular fiction works, the Left Behind series, written with Jerry B. Jenkins, have appeared on the best-seller lists of the Christian Booksellers Association, Publishers Weekly, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the New York Times.
Another popular series by LaHaye and Jenkins is The Jesus Chronicles. This four-book novel series gives readers rich first-century experiences as John, Mark, Luke, and Matthew recount thrilling accounts of the life of Jesus. Dr. LaHaye is coauthor of another fiction series, Babylon Rising. Each of the four titles in this series have debuted in the top 10 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. These are suspense thrillers with thought-provoking messages.
TEST YOUR PROPHECY IQ
Aren’t Antichrist and Satan one and the same?
See answers at the end of this section.
THE TRUTH BEHIND THE FICTION
THE PROPHECY BEHIND THE SCENES
In Assassins we experience the sixth Trumpet Judgment, the second of the great “woes,” which unleashes a great army of 200 million horsemen who bring death to one-third of those on earth through murderous plagues. Their connection to four fallen angels gives us reason to consider the role of angels in Revelation. The seventh and final trumpet gives us a heavenly perspective on the halfway point in the Tribulation. These are all described by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in chapters 13 and 27 of their nonfiction work Are We Living in the End Times?
The Sixth Trumpet: The Four Angels Released (Revelation 9:13-19)
At the blowing of the sixth trumpet, the second “woe” is unleashed: the release of “the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates” (verse 14). These angels apparently lead an army of 200 million “horsemen” who kill a third of mankind through the plagues of fire and smoke and brimstone. When you combine this third with the quarter of humanity killed in the seal judgments, by this point in the Tribulation half of the world’s population (after the Rapture) has been destroyed.
Who are these 200 million horsemen? In the May 21, 1965, issue of Time magazine, the author of an article on China threw a hand grenade into the laps of prophecy preachers by stating that the Chinese had the potential of raising an army of “200 million troops.”
That this number of troops matches exactly the number found in Revelation 9:16 triggered an outbreak of speculation that caused some interpreters to suggest the 200 million would come with the kings of the east to do battle with Christ at the consummation of the end of this age, known as the Battle of Armageddon. But while there is no question that the armies of the Orient coming to that battle at the very end of the Tribulation will be enormous, due to the incredible population of those countries, they definitely are not the Revelation 9:16 army. Consider the following reasons:
• The 9:16 army goes out during the sixth trumpet, which occurs near the middle of the Tribulation; the 16:12 army goes out at the end of the Tribulation.
• The 200 million in 9:16 are not humans but demons, doing things men cannot do. These “horsemen” have a supernatural effect on the earth.
• The Time article included all the men and women under arms in China, including their local militias or defense forces. There is no way the communist government could risk committing all its military and armament to the Middle East. Besides, the logistics of moving an army of 200 million from the Orient across the Euphrates and the Arabian Desert to the little land of Israel seems impossible. Such an army would consist of four times as many troops as were utilized in all of World War II—and that stretched from the South Pacific through Europe and into the Near East and lasted over five years. This battle is over in a matter of days.
For these and other reasons, it is not realistic (and scripturally unnecessary) to
assume that the armies of 16:12 are synonymous with those of 9:16.
The 200 million horsemen who come on the scene in this text will obviously be supernatural—creatures that are so awesome to look on, as we portrayed them in Assassins, that they actually frighten some people to death. And their sting “is in their mouth and their tails”—and with them they kill one-third of the world’s population of those who reject Christ and commit themselves to Antichrist (9:4).
Angels in Revelation
Angels, both holy and fallen, are mentioned in the book of Revelation no less than seventy-seven times. They are seen acting in various capacities throughout the book and throughout the time periods outlined in the book. Many times a holy angel is pictured as making a proclamation. At other times angels are seen giving instructions or explanations or bursting out in mighty chorus to God.
It is through the angels that God executes most of His judgments in the Tribulation. They are the ones who blow the seven trumpets that announce the second series of divine judgments; they are the ones who pour out the final seven Bowl Judgments.
According to the prophet Daniel, Michael the archangel has special duties in the Tribulation. He will be tasked with protecting the nation Israel (12:1).
God even uses fallen angels to accomplish His purposes in the Tribulation. In the sixth Trumpet Judgment, four fallen angels who have been bound at the river Euphrates are released to kill a third of mankind (Revelation 9:13-15). In all these, however, the fallen angels merely carry out the will of God. They are never “on the loose.”
The Seventh Trumpet: Loud Voices in Heaven (Revelation 11:15-19)
The third “woe,” the blowing of the seventh trumpet, is like the breaking of the seventh seal in that it introduces the next series of divine judgments. The seventh trumpet is not in itself a judgment but rather shows all heaven rejoicing at the soon-to-be consummated victory of Christ over the Antichrist. John records that “loud voices” in heaven shouted, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (verse 15). Great rejoicing and loud worship fill heaven, and on earth many lightnings, noises, thunderings, hail, and an earthquake announce the approaching end.
But first, the Great Tribulation.
IN THE MEANTIME . . . since the Left Behind series was first published
When Assassins was published in 1999, the biggest fear (not yet in full bloom) was “Y2K”—the threat of a global meltdown because of potential computer problems related to the turn of the new millennium. A threat that could have “changed the world forever” was defused as precautions were taken. Then, literally out of the blue, came the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001—a day that did make a profound impact on America and the world, virtually on the doorstep of the new millennium. For the fifth anniversary of the Left Behind Prophecy Newsletter (2003-2009), prophecy expert Mark Hitchcock wrote an article entitled “Prophetic Shift of Gears.” He cited seven “major players and places that moved into another gear on 9/11.”
First, 9/11 shined the spotlight on the Middle East unlike any time in modern history. While the Middle East had become more and more of a world focus due to Israel and oil, a whole new, evil dimension was added—terror. The Middle East is now the nexus of the three great international concerns: Israel, oil, and Islamic terror. For the events of the end times to occur, the Middle East must be the center of world focus. This piece of the prophetic puzzle is now in place.
Second, 9/11 set the stage for Islamic nations in Ezekiel 38–39 to invade Israel. As one reads the names of the nations that will invade Israel in the end times in Ezekiel 38:1-7, it looks like a “Who’s Who” of Israel’s enemies today, especially Iran. The close, developing ties between Russia (Rosh) and Iran (Persia) have been greatly accelerated since 2001.
Third, 9/11 moved Israel front and center. It became increasingly clear that Islamic hatred for America was due in large part to our stalwart support of Israel. Osama bin Laden speaks out frequently against Israel. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has uttered a long litany of vicious statement against Israel and the Jewish people. Israel and Jerusalem will become more and more of a burdensome stone to the nations in the days ahead as the world faces increased threats of terror (Zechariah 12:1-2).
Fourth, the attacks on the U.S. highlighted how vulnerable the world’s only superpower is to terror attacks. All Americans are now painfully aware that we have a bull’s-eye on our back. America is not mentioned in Bible prophecy. Many have begun to wonder if our absence could be because we fall prey to some devastating nuclear jihad on American soil. While no one knows for sure what will happen to America, 9/11 raised this scenario as a real possibility.
Fifth, the terror of that day and its effect on security showed the willingness of people to sacrifice personal rights and privacy for safety and security. Since 9/11, there’s been a dramatic increase in surveillance, searches, and security. Almost immediately after 9/11, all kinds of talk erupted about national ID cards, biometric scanners, etc. This situation is ripe for a person to come on the scene and adapt this developing technology to exercise iron-fisted control over the world.
Sixth, 9/11 has shown the need for more and more global cooperation between nations to fight the worldwide terror threat. This was demonstrated recently when British and U.S. intelligence, working in tandem and with Pakistan, discovered an advanced terror plot to blow up U.S. airliners over the Atlantic Ocean. In our new world, globalism is necessary for survival, but it’s also setting the stage for one man to rule the entire world.
Seventh, the events of 9/11 have made the coming Middle East peace treaty of Daniel 9:27 more desired and necessary than ever before. Peace in the Middle East is the number one international priority.
How many of Hitchcock’s observations hold true today? What other events have occurred since he wrote this in 2005 to either confirm or nullify the idea that 9/11 marked a significant “shift of gears” in the fulfillment of end times prophecy?
TEST YOUR PROPHECY IQ—ANSWER
Not exactly. Antichrist is an enemy of God and will be influenced by Satan from the beginning. There is a distinction between the two halves of the Tribulation—the reason the second half will be called the Great Tribulation—because in the second half, Satan will possess (indwell) Antichrist and set the course leading to the great battle to take place at Armageddon.
Tim LaHaye, Assassins: Assignment: Jerusalem, Target: Antichrist
(Series: Left Behind # 6)
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