“I understand, Premier. Now, what do we tell the North Koreans?” Liang asked.
Chapter 6
5:39 AM Friday Moscow, Russia - President’s Office
President of Russia, Keveta Droenkov, the Prime Minister, Svorad Zefirov, and the Federal Security Service Director, Vladimir Leshev, like almost everyone else on earth, had convened at 3:30 AM to watch the display the Witnesses gave on television, in its entirety. They were waiting for the interview that was coming up and were in discussions on the state of America and the Middle East; the effects the Witnesses would have on world politics; and power shifting from America to maybe Europe or China.
President Droenkov looked over at the Prime Minister then said, “The hurricanes hitting America all at once will be a disaster. It will be hard to comprehend the damage that will occur and the time it will take America to recover from these disasters. Add these to the disastrous quake in Los Angeles and they are in trouble. Add it all up and what you get is that the Americans will no longer be the power they are now for some time to come. What do you think Svorad?”
“I am not sure Mr. President. I have to tell you, in spite of the expected carnage to hit the Americans, they still have the largest arsenal in the world, and their military’s technology exceeds all others in its ability to wage war in the air or by sea, anywhere in the world. Their submarine fleet alone could destroy any country in the world on a moment’s notice. So, even though economically they may have a major setback, they are still the big kid on the block.”
“I think they are done, at least for now, if this Enoch’s predictions are true,” Vladimir said. “And they may pass temporary control of their military machine over to their allies. I hear rumors coming from the Common Market leaders and The Waldger Group that this weekend they are going to approach the Americans on this and force their hand. That means that on our continent, the new western bully will be the European Common Market or the revived Roman Empire, as their prophecy dictates. Europe banding together will put us in a precarious position, based on our geographic location in this part of the world. I also doubt that Waldger will allow us to participate fully in his plans and share his power with us. I think that Waldger plans to take over the entire world as the world leader, or at least someone he appoints as such.”
“So, is this what you think, Vladimir?” Svorad asked. “Just like that, the Americans will give over sovereignty to the Europeans or Waldger and his group of money men? I am not sure that will ever happen. However, Waldger does control the American’s politics and has, with his organization, for the past 50 years, controlled the Europeans too, for that matter. Let us not forget the Chinese, who will be a major issue for anyone trying to fill in for the Americans temporarily or permanently. But I do agree, Vladimir, that for the short term and the way things are looking, the superpowers for a short period of time will be the Europeans, Chinese and of course, us.”
Svorad let that sink in then added, “So we need to consider who we wish to be lined up with or go it on our own. Nevertheless, unless we use nuclear weapons, we are not strong enough to fight a ground war here or anywhere else.”
It was quiet for a moment. No one spoke, as each person had their own thoughts on the issues they were discussing. After a few minutes, President Keveta said with emphasis, “I do not believe that the Europeans want a war with anyone. What I do think is that the Middle East is about to become even more unstable and that these two Witnesses will eventually branch out into the rest of the world and cause havoc in all countries including ours. They are the ones we need to be concerned about,” he paused before adding, “By the way, they have applied for visas to come here and hold a rally similar to the one we have just seen.”
“Well, Keveta, we will not agree to this,” Vladimir said. “The American can visit, but we will not allow him to preach his sermons about his God here. We won’t be issuing permits for a display like we saw in Kansas City…never, ever!” He continued, “As for this, this so-called Elijah, I doubt he would come to Russia. It seems his focus will be on Israel and the Middle-Eastern countries. At least that is what I perceive.”
He stopped and seemed in thought, as if changing his mind, then said, “President Droenkov, just a thought, but if we do not let them come, they may unleash some of their destruction on us until we agree to let them in. I have read the prophecies of their Bible, and if they are true and they are whom their Bible describes, then they can do as they wish. If he wished to do so, Enoch could place us in a bad situation. We cannot afford to have a major natural disaster - like they seem to be able to cause - and still keep our heads above water.”
“So what do you suggest, Vladimir?” President Droenkov asked.
“First, we need to deal with Waldger and his plans. It seems he and the Europeans are gathering allies and adding strength to their organization. Our best defense right now, I believe, is to convene a meeting with the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. We need to do this quickly for I feel that the world’s powers are changing as we speak and that the world as we know it will end up in three, maybe four powerful groups. It is important that we discuss this with the other Shanghai Cooperative members sooner than later to solidify our positions.”
He paused, and then said, “Maybe some of our observer states should be brought into the meeting.”
Knowing the difficulty of the decisions confronting them, Keveta thought a bit on this before answering. He then said, “Call the Chinese and see if they will agree to a meeting. Then once the Chinese agree, we will invite maybe Iran and India but not Pakistan or Mongolia or other perceived partners including Belarus and Sri Lanka. The others will make it difficult for us, for they are constantly trying for position in the meetings. Regarding the witness, we will grant them their visas and as you said, we can always change our minds later. Much of this may change so we need to wait till the ambassadors we sent to Waldger’s meeting in Kansas City tomorrow communicate with us about what was said and what Waldger’s intentions are.”
“When the interview is over I will call Yuan Kwan their Director in China and our other member states as you directed, unless something changes,” said Vladimir.
“That will be our first course of action on this matter then. You make your call, and we will go from there,” Keveta replied. “The broadcast is coming back on with the interview so let’s see what else these Witnesses have to say.”
Chapter 7
5:39 AM Friday Jerusalem, Israel – Prime Minister’s Office
Prime Minister David Ben Bernstein, Shlomo Mendel, Minister of Defense, and Meyer Branlin, Director of Mossad had, as others in the world, convened together at 3:00 AM local time. They had just finished watching Elijah’s announcements on the American broadcast and his threats to their enemies, with great interest. They had assembled about two hours ago to watch and listen to the prophets or Witnesses, as they called themselves, by satellite. The reality was that all the other members of the Israeli government including those of the Knesset and the other Ministers that had not been invited were also watching.
The comments made by Elijah were of a major concern to them. This self-proclaimed prophet from the Talmud and the Pentateuch had declared war in the Middle East. Based on his comments immediately after the broadcast, they had immediately placed the country on high alert for fear of repercussions from their enemies. This was a precaution to secure their borders in the event of retaliation.
The Prime Minister, thinking on the situation as he turned to the others, stated, “I am sure all of you know that our religious leaders will be in heavy discussions over the statements made by Elijah, as well as whether or not he is really the Prophet Elijah from the Pentateuch or the Christian’s New Testament. Like each of you, I am very concerned. There is the outside chance that he is who he says he is, and if that be the case, we are in for some major religious and political issues here.”
He paused briefly and since no one spoke, he continued voicing h
is thoughts. “The Americans are being brought to their knees as we speak and their country is under siege by these two. In less than five days, this Enoch and Elijah have brought many parts of the world to its knees, including several of our neighboring countries. Egypt is almost under water, along with Syria, Northern Africa, Iran, Iraq, and Jordan. However, it is not raining that much here in Israel. This is meteorologically impossible…and if I might add, this other prophet, Enoch or Jack South, who was barely mentioned in the Pentateuch, supposedly caused it all.” He stopped talking as he looked at his desk, trying to find the right words.
“Now, for the sake of conversation, if he is really Elijah, as our history states, he could bring us to our knees very quickly. If he continues his threats, he could possibly cause a major war in which we will have to defend Israel with everything we have. In addition, with Enoch waging war against America, we cannot expect much help from the Americans in the event we have a major confrontation. They already have pressing matters of their own. Keep in mind that we are, as of now, very vulnerable, especially after the hurricanes start hitting the U.S. Our enemies will be well aware of this.”
“We should never have allowed the American to return,” Meyer said. “It was a bad decision to let him go.” He paused, looking to see if he could read an expression of either surprise or anger on David’s face, but saw none, so he continued.
“Now this desert dweller, Shraya, who now claims he is the same prophet Elijah from thousands of years ago, is returning to Israel to attempt to convert us all to Christianity, rebuild the Temple, and cause chaos in the world.” He then sat back laughing, his head shaking back and forth, then said, “This is ridiculous. One, the Jew does not believe in Jesus as the Messiah, but that he is only a prophet like the real Elijah. Secondly, we cannot tear down the Dome of The Rock and then rebuild the Temple and survive. Three, the world would tear us apart if we did and we would not have any allies anywhere. Four, I doubt that very many Jews will be willing to become Christians. For God’s sake men, open your eyes. This self-proclaimed witness is the same Shraya that lived in the desert all these years. I am having difficulty in believing all of this to be true let alone that he has any power whatsoever. I think he is a fraud.”
There was a knock on the door, which interrupted Meyer. An aide stuck his head in and said, “Prime Minister, Sir, Chief Rabbinate Yona Salant is here. Should I have him come in?”
“Yes, please,” David, replied.
Rabbi Yona Salant was one of two elected Rabbinates allowed in their Constitution. He was of the Ashkenazi side and had won election to his office in 2013. His contemporary was the Sephardi elected Rabbi. He was unable to attend the request to come there to discuss this Elijah issue. He, like many in the world, had actually gone to the U.S. to see the American, self-proclaimed witness from God. Yona had informed David that he would be late, because he wanted to speak to Benjamin Hagen in America. Before coming to this meeting, he wanted to get Benjamin’s opinion on the Elijah question.
Yona sat in one of the empty chairs. After welcoming him and thanking him for coming at such an early hour, David asked, “Yona were you able to speak with Rabbinate Hagen after the sermon in America?”
“Yes, I did speak with him. I had just finished meeting with him when my car pulled up a few minutes ago and I came immediately to your office.”
“What did he say?”
“Well simply put, he said that if he was not Elijah, then he was the devil. He also added that he was reserving any other comments until after he was able to study scripture.”
David said to Yona, “We were just discussing Elijah, and as you know, he has started his own revolution. I suppose we will have to wait for Benjamin’s summary or feelings in this matter when he returns. I assume he is coming back soon?”
“Yes, he is leaving first thing in the morning from Kansas City. As you well know, neither he nor any of us were invited to the Waldger Meeting being held after the sermon but then we never are, are we?”
“No we are not Yona. They have their own agenda I suppose. Speaking of Waldger, what surprises me is that they were all in Kansas City to watch these Witnesses…it’s unprecedented.”
As he said, this David reflected to himself; yes, it was unprecedented and very much so. Never before had the world’s movers and shakers as secret as the Waldger group publicly gathered a group of leaders for such an event. Normally they were very much behind closed doors with hidden agendas. Even the President of the United States was there. Waldger must know much more than he was telling letting on about this whole situation.
David glanced over at the Monitor and noticed that the interview was about to start. He then said, “This Jack South, now called Enoch, is coming back on to be interviewed by Bear News in a few minutes. Let’s see what else they have planned for us that we do not yet know about. After the interview we can discuss our options.”
Chapter 8
8:09 AM Friday Tehran, Iran Supreme Leader’s Palace
President Mauvad Shasahvar, Ayatollah Shahin Moneim, Supreme Leader, and some members of the Watchers’ Council had viewed the display of the Witnesses in America, on Satellite TV. They also murmured among themselves upon hearing the proclamations of the one who called himself Elijah.
After the broadcast, they were discussing the issue that Elijah was a primary figure in their religion as well as the religion of the Jews. Like them, the Muslims considered Elijah to be a prophet who preached against Baal in Israel under the Kingship of Ahab and his consort, Jezebel. However, unlike the Jews and the Christians the Muslims had no reference of Elijah being lifted up into heaven in the Qur’an. The Supreme Leader was now addressing some of the Council members about the statements made by Elijah.
The Ayatollah said, “This self-proclaimed prophet who, by my calculations, would be about 3000 years old, has said that not only will he destroy Israel’s enemies, but he will also rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The only way that can happen is if he destroys the Dome of the Rock, one of our primary holy sites.”
President Shasahvar reflected for a moment on this statement. This event by Israel or someone connected to them may well be the opportunity he had always hoped would happen. He then said, “Since we are always calling for the destruction of the Zionist in the worldwide press, I would assume that this Elijah means he will try and destroy Iran. We are the most vocal about destroying the Zionist and I can promise you, we will definitely stop any attempt of destroying the Temple Mount. Nevertheless, I have no idea if he is Elijah or just blowing smoke. My other question is does he have real powers?”
President Shasahvar smiled as he continued. He was getting very excited as he unfolded the plan he had just thought of. “We may have an opportunity to align all our Arab members and Muslims around the world against not only Israel but Western countries too. The threat he has made of the destruction of the Dome will not sit well with Muslims not only here in Southeast Asia but Muslims worldwide and their governments. I feel that this is a great opportunity to use this to further our plan to destroy Israel, be the champions of the Arab/Muslim world, and put an end to the Zionist threat worldwide; and in addition, unite all Muslims worldwide.”
Ayatollah Shahin said, “That may well be true President Shasahvar, but as we know from our own scriptures, Elijah is one of our prophets also. With that in mind, if he is the same Elijah we have in our Qur’an, then he is from Allah. Therefore, the power of this Elijah and this Enoch that we have just seen in America, concern me. If he is Elijah we need to find out why Allah has sent him back to us.”
The Ayatollah looked around to see the expressions on their faces after his last statements. He looked at each one individually as was his custom when speaking. Once he was satisfied that he had their complete attention he then said, “It seems that he and Jack South, or Enoch, as he now calls himself, may bring curses upon our country. Elijah, if that is who he really is, threatened not only us but also all Muslims, directly
, in his sermon. He made direct threats to all enemies of Israel, of whom we are the most vocal, as you said, Mr. President. However, I do agree with some of your thoughts of aligning the Arab and Muslim World. Now, since the Americans seem to be preoccupied with these Witnesses and what they are perceived to be doing to their country as well as to our neighbors here in the Middle East and Northern Africa with the rains, your plan may make some sense. However, I think that we need to see if he can prove himself as really being Elijah from Allah before we make any statements or do anything.”
One of the council members spoke up and said, “Ayatollah Shahin, I am concerned that Elijah is here to punish us also. He was very clear about enemies of Israel and we need to call upon Allah for guidance in this matter. It may be, if I might say as a point of consideration, that Allah and Yahweh are one and that Elijah has also been sent to us also.”
Ayatollah Shahin replied, “That is blasphemy, my friend, to even suggest Allah is the same God of the Jews and the Christians. You should be very careful in what you say. Now, I will overlook your brief loss of your faith.”
Looking at the man in disgust, the Ayatollah hesitated, before he began speaking again, “At this point we do not know the answers to any of these questions yet, but we will soon. We must have patience and not say or do anything until we know more. We need to see if this Elijah can prove himself the Prophet mentioned in the Hebrew scripture or in the Qur’an. Enoch is going to do another interview on American television in a few minutes. Maybe we will know more after his interview and then we can continue our discussions.”