Mac found chairs and tables and enlisted Chang and Lionel in the setup process, while Chaim asked Rayford to help him assess the home he had not seen for three and a half years. All the old man could do was shake his head at the memories. There was no evidence of damage to the place by the GC. He found no residue from three separate earthquakes, including the most recent global upheaval and the raising of the entire city some three hundred feet at the cleaving of the Mount of Olives.
As Rayford followed him about the place, Chaim said, “I am tired of my own disbelief. I must simply once and for all accept that God is the author of all this. He can do anything, and He has done everything. I had heard that the GC took over this house as a command center almost three years ago. Can you imagine, Captain Steele, what it should look like after dozens of different men have lived and worked in it? I expected the stench of tobacco, garbage, a mess. Yet look.”
Rayford was looking. It was as if a cleaning crew had swept through the entire place. Floors, walls, ceilings were clean. Furniture was in place. Rayford wouldn’t have been more surprised if there had been slipcovers draped on each piece. But there didn’t need to be. He couldn’t find a speck of dust anywhere.
“Well, the refrigerator and freezer and pantry are empty,” Chaim said. “And yet look what the Lord provided on our way here.”
“Guess He thought you could stock the shelves yourself.”
“I do not know. I could get used to all this.”
When it was time to sit and eat, Chaim stood at the head of the table. “Let us pray,” he said.
And Rayford had the strangest experience. As he prayed along with Chaim, thanking God for the privilege of witnessing what they had seen that day, for the food He had provided, and for the move-in-ready home He had preserved, it was as if Jesus answered audibly and immediately and personally.
“You’re welcome, Rayford,” He said. “It is My delight to shower you with love in tangible ways.” And before Rayford could pray for Kenny, the Lord said, “I know of your concern. He will be reunited with his parents, as will you, very soon.”
It was as if Jesus were sitting right next to Rayford, His arm around him, speaking directly to him. It broke Rayford anew and he couldn’t stanch the tears. He folded his hands on the plate before him and rested his face on them, worshiping God.
And Jesus said, “I will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of My kingdom there will be no end. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I laid down My life for the sheep. I am the Lamb who will lead you to living fountains of waters, and God will wipe away every tear from your eyes.”
Rayford rested there, listening and worshiping, knowing that the tears Jesus mentioned were those of sadness, and his were anything but. He couldn’t imagine ever being sad again.
He heard the rest of the men murmuring their praise and knew they had had the same experience he had. While Rayford could smell the delicious food in heaping serving bowls inches from his plate, his hunger could wait. He never wanted this moment of worship to end.
After several minutes, Chaim picked up his prayer again. “And now, O Lord, our Redeemer and Friend, we thank You for this bounty. I confess, Father, that as grateful as I was for the manna, and as satisfying as it was . . .” He didn’t have to finish. Rayford sat up and covered his mouth, but he couldn’t stifle the laugh. And in his soul he believed with all his heart that he heard Jesus chuckle too. Yes, manna was one thing. This was something else entirely.
Chaim sat down and the men opened their eyes, looking at each other. “Jesus spoke to me again in Chinese,” Chang said.
“Spanish,” Razor said.
“Hebrew,” Chaim said.
“English,” Rayford said.
“Sout’ side o’ Chicago,” Lionel said, and they laughed.
“He worked a little west Texan in there too, I believe,” Mac said. “That’s the language of heaven, ya know.”
Rayford cleared his throat. Still no one had reached for the food. “Ah, was it just me, or did any of you hear Jesus laugh at Chaim’s manna crack?”
They all smiled and nodded. Chaim said, “No question the Lord has a sense of humor. Gentlemen, can you believe the food is still steaming as if we hadn’t left it out here for several minutes?”
“The fruit looks crisp and fresh too,” Razor said. “And no flies.”
And so they ate. Rayford assumed that for the others it was as it was for him—the tastiest meal he had ever enjoyed. “The real miracle,” he said later, “will be eating like this all the time without gaining weight.”
During cleanup, Rayford and Chaim spoke with Eleazar by phone. It was great for Rayford to hear that they had enjoyed the same type of time with the Lord and a wonderful meal as the men had. Chaim reminded Eleazar of what they planned to cover that evening from the Scriptures, and they compared notes on difficult passages. “If we are left with confusing questions,” Eleazar boomed, “we shall simply ask Jesus, next time we see Him.”
Later that evening, the men gathered in Chaim’s great room, and he opened his Bible and spread his notes and a couple of commentaries before him. “Books by men seem superfluous now,” he said. “Whenever we pray I feel as if Messiah is here with me, answering questions even before I ask. Let us begin with a time of worship and prayer.”
As one the men slipped from their chairs and knelt on the floor, each praying in his native tongue.
Mac was about to tell the Lord that there were people—particularly from the previous seven years—that he was eager to see. Each had meant something special to him, had made a significant impact on his life. But before he could articulate it, Jesus spoke to him by name. “I know, Cleburn. And you shall see them soon. I long for that reunion as much as you do and will rejoice with you when you see them.”
As Rayford received answers to prayers he had not yet even uttered, he prostrated himself on the floor and could see the others doing likewise. He decided that what Jesus was trying to tell him was the same as he had heard from Bruce Barnes years before, and the same as he had heard from Tsion and Chaim: Prayer was as much, or more, about listening as it was about talking. Rayford had never accomplished that balance. It seemed he was always beseeching, asking, requesting. Yes, he thanked God for things and often worshiped Him in prayer, but he was starting to get the picture now. It was time to simply be quiet and listen. And even if God said nothing, Rayford was to rest in the peace of His presence.
Rayford lay there on his stomach and basked in the warmth of God’s love. And Jesus said, “God is your refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore do not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.
“There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
“The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with you; the God of Jacob is your refuge.
“Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. He made wars cease to the end of the earth; He broke the bow and cut the spear in two; He burned the chariot in the fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
“The Lord of hosts is with you; the God of Jacob is your refuge.”
Suddenly Chaim rose back to his knees and said, “Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth. He has subdued the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. . . . God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.”
Rayford lay communing with God, only vaguely aware of the others. Finally, when it felt as if he actually needed a break from the loving h
and of Jesus, he moved back to his chair. Strange how everyone seemed to have the same experiences at the same time and for the same duration.
“Before you start, Chaim, I have a question, maybe more of a confession. This newly close presence of God, through Jesus, is so fresh, so special, that at times I can’t seem to get enough of Him. But at other times, like just now, it was almost as if I was so filled to overflowing that if I stayed there, I could take no more.”
Others nodded, which Rayford found comforting. Chaim said, “That reminds me of a story I once read of a great evangelist from the nineteenth century, Dwight L. Moody. He wrote of having an experience with the Lord where His presence and fullness were so overwhelming that Moody had to ask God to ‘stay His hand.’”
“Exactly,” Rayford said.
“I have felt that too,” Chaim said. “Perhaps in the presence of Jesus we will build the spiritual muscle necessary to endure such blessings.”
Chaim seemed to look at each man individually, as if to ask if there was anything else before he got started. Then he explained that he and the elders had spent the last month vigorously searching the Scriptures for clues to what to expect after the Glorious Appearing.
“Like cramming for a test,” Razor suggested.
“I am not familiar with that term,” Chaim said, “but it seems self-explanatory and I would have to agree. Not that we are going to be tested. In fact, there was much discussion among the elders at first over how necessary this was. Some held that Jesus would be our teacher and would explain everything along the way.
“Well, maybe He expects us to know this material, hmm? Today we witnessed His victory ascent to Mount Olivet, also known as the Mount of Olives. We saw it split in two. He conquered the invading armies, slaying them with the Word of God. We were with Him for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and we saw Him capture and judge demons, the False Prophet, Antichrist, and even Satan himself. And yet never once did He stop and say, ‘Beloved, you’ll find this on page so-and-so of your text, and it will be on the final.’
“These things happened as they were prophesied, and no explanation is forthcoming. That is much the same way Jesus taught and preached the first time He was on earth. Only occasionally did He follow a parable with an explanation. And when He did, it was only enough for those ‘who have ears to hear.’
“I suppose there were many in the crowd today who had little idea what was going on. They probably could have figured out who was who and what was what, and in the end they knew that Jesus had won again, conquering more foes. But they are probably wondering where He has gone, what He is doing. Well, gentlemen, the answers are in the Book, and if you are interested, we shall plumb the riches herein and see what we can learn.”
Each enthusiastically expressed his interest, and Chaim began.
“I fear that many—and I confess this was true of me and most of the elders—believed that the Glorious Appearing ushered in the millennial kingdom, which, as you know, means the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. Anyone here in that camp?”
Several nodded, Rayford included. He glanced at Abdullah, who was smiling. It was not the smile of the condescendingly superior, but of one who had apparently done his homework and knew what was coming. Rayford was most impressed that, despite this, Abdullah did not call out, “Not me! I know!”
Rayford raised his hand. “Chaim, I’ll bet Smitty knows what you’re talking about. He’s become quite the student.”
“Is that true, Mr. Smith?” Chaim said.
“I am not well versed in it,” Abdullah said, “but my studies, mostly with Dr. Ben-Judah, reveal that there is actually a gap between the Glorious Appearing and the Millennium, much as there was between the Rapture and the Tribulation.”
“There was?” Razor said.
“Oh yes,” Abdullah said. “You’ll recall that the seven years did not begin with the disappearances of the believers, but rather with the signing of the covenant between Antichrist and Israel. That came a couple of weeks later, but it could have come a couple of years later, and the signing, not the Rapture, would have been the start of the Tribulation.”
“Excellent!” Chaim said. “That is indeed where I was going and what we will discuss this evening. From the Glorious Appearing to the actual beginning of the millennial kingdom, there is a seventy-five-day interval. If it took God just six days to create the heavens and the earth and man himself, imagine how much work Jesus must have if He has been allotted seventy-five days in which to do it.”
“Where do you get that out of the Bible?” Rayford said. “I mean, I’m no great student or anything, but I’ve tried to read a lot.”
“Good question. The answer is found partly in Daniel 12:11-12. Listen to the first of those verses: ‘And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.’ Rayford, you remember when Antichrist defiled the temple?”
“Do I.”
“That was the abomination of desolation. And that was one thousand two hundred and sixty days before the Glorious Appearing. So we are already talking about thirty more days. And the next verse says, ‘Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.’ That’s another forty-five days, giving us a total of seventy-five more days.”
“What does the first thirty days refer to?” Rayford said.
“Well, the verse is talking about the temple sacrifice and the abomination, so I think it is fair to assume the first interval relates to the temple. I cannot imagine Jesus wanting to take the throne of David in a temple that has been defiled by Antichrist—at least not before He cleanses it. We know from Ezekiel 40–48 that the Lord will establish a temple during the Millennium, so I conclude that the first thirty days of the interval will be devoted to setting up the temple and preparing it for use.
“The other forty-five days are more open to speculation, but notice that verse 12 says that those who make it through that time will be blessed. If that is a personal, individual blessing, it indicates that the person is qualified to enter into the millennial kingdom. Matthew 25:34 says, ‘Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”’
“That makes it sound to me as if the seventy-five-day interval is a time for preparation for the kingdom. So much of the globe has been destroyed during the judgments of the Tribulation, I suppose it should not surprise us that the Lord will take some time to renovate His creation for the Millennium. The beautification of Jerusalem was done in an instant with the elevating of the city from the splitting of the Mount of Olives, but imagine the work that needs to be done around the world. The mountains have been leveled, filling much of the seas. Islands have vanished. Surely God wants to put the earth back into its Edenic state for the enjoyment of those who will share it with Jesus for the next thousand years.”
CHAPTER 19
Leah Rose had come a long way from nursing supervisor at Arthur Young Memorial Hospital in Palatine, Illinois. How was she to know what would become of her when she first encountered Rayford Steele and the fledgling Tribulation Force nearly seven years before? She and Rayford had spotted each other’s seal of the believer, visible only to others of like faith. Otherwise, she might not have given him the time of day.
To think that since then she had been all over the world with the Force in a variety of roles, mostly medical but not exclusively. She had made new friends, seen them become loved ones, and then seen them die. There had been times when she wouldn’t have given two cents for her chances to make it to the Glorious Appearing. At least not until she was assigned duty at Petra, where in three and a half years, no one had died.
Privileged, that’s what she called herself. Certainly nothing she had ever done had earned her the benefits she had enjoyed. It had not been an easy life. Hardly. No one who had lived through the Tribulation had it e
asy. That she had to live through it at all was her own fault—for having heard the message and ignored it for so long. She had not considered herself a rejecter. Leah had seen herself as an intellectual, a thinker, a ponderer.
Evangelists and evangelistic-minded friends had told her and told her that a nondecision was a “no” decision. She had argued. She wasn’t saying no, she said; she was still thinking. Well, one of her well-meaning friends had said, don’t think yourself into hell. Or into being left behind.
That had been a laugh. While Leah had seriously considered the claims of Christ on her life, that He had died for her sins—of which she acknowledged there were many—the idea of His showing up in the clouds someday, in an instant so quick you could blink and miss it, well . . . come on now.
And then she had been left behind. Leah took care of that issue immediately. Then, while she floundered spiritually, looking for more, looking for truth, looking for answers, she believed God sent Rayford and the Trib Force into her life.
They were all in the same boat, of course, latecomers to the kingdom. But among them were men of the Bible, lifelong students like Tsion Ben-Judah, from whom she believed she had learned more than she had in nursing school.
And now here she was in Jerusalem, in the home of an elder. With friends who had become dear and who had experienced with her, firsthand, the fulfillment of prophecy in the presence of Jesus Himself. Leah had seen it with her own eyes, talked to Him, and met with Him personally. When He embraced her and called her by name and told her how much He loved her, she could not speak. And yet He heard her heart. He had been with her, known her since the foundation of the world, He said. Was with her all her life, at the high and low points, the turning points, loving her, waiting for her, longing to meet her.
Leah was so full of Jesus she hardly knew if she could stand it. And while others cowered and hid their faces and grimaced at the awful reality of Satan and his lackeys getting theirs, she would not turn away. This, she knew, was justice, and she wanted to see it.