Arrived (44 page)

“I am Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely. I am the sacrifice for your sins. I take away not only your sins but the sins of all the world. God raised me to life. And you are witnesses of this fact! I am the Word that became human and lived here on earth among you. I am full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And you have seen my glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.

“Though I am God, I did not demand and cling to my rights as God. I made myself nothing; I took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form I obediently humbled myself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.

“Because of this, Conrad, God raised me up to the heights of heaven and gave me a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

People around Conrad wept.

“Did you hear that?” Enoch said. “He used my name.”

“He used
my
name too,” Conrad said, still unable to believe it.

“He called me by name,” Josey Fogarty said.

Charlie rushed to Conrad and Shelly. “He talked to me too!”

Vicki glanced at Judd, and by the look on his face she could tell he had heard his name too. When Jesus had used her name, she almost blushed, almost felt guilty. Then she realized this was going on with each believer.

“Vicki,” Jesus said, “you know my love and kindness, that though I was very rich, yet for your sake I became poor, so that by my poverty I could make you rich.

“I have rescued you from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and I have brought you into the Kingdom of God's dear Son. I have purchased your freedom with my blood and have forgiven all your sins.

“I am the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. I made the things you can see and the things you can't see—kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through me and for me. I existed before everything else began, and I hold all creation together.

“I am the head of the church, which is my body. I am the first of all who will rise from the dead, so I am first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in me, and by me God reconciled everything to himself. I made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of my blood on the cross.”

Vicki leaned against a post holding the barbed wire and whispered, “Jesus, I don't deserve the things you've done for me.”

“And you, Vicki, were once so far away from God. You were his enemy, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now I have brought you back as his friend. I have done this through my death on the cross in my own human body. As a result, I have brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

After Jesus stopped speaking, Lionel walked with Sam and found Mr. Stein. They both had many questions, and Mr. Stein tried to answer them.

“Didn't Dr. Rosenzweig say the remnant was supposed to go to Jerusalem, back to their home city?” Sam said.

“He did,” Mr. Stein said.

“But how?” Lionel said. “There's no way to transport a million people.”

“Ah, have you forgotten whose battle this is?” Mr. Stein said, pointing at Jesus. “If God wants us in Israel, he will make a way. Now the elders have asked us to head down the mountain—”

Mr. Stein stopped when Jesus spoke again in a loud voice. “Someday, O Israel, I will gather the few of you who are left. I will bring you together again like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture. Yes, your land will again be filled with noisy crowds!

“I, your leader, will break out and lead you out of exile. I will bring you through the gates of your cities of captivity, back to your own land. I, your king, will lead you; I, the Lord, will guide you.”

People rushed down the mountainside. Mr. Stein kept up with Lionel and Sam, scurrying along the rocks and pathways made over the past few months.

Lionel paused, looking up at Petra, wondering if they were leaving it forever. In the distance dust clouds rose from the crowds. Were the people driving ATVs? Had God provided a way to Jerusalem? He turned to Mr. Stein.

“We're not going to Jerusalem yet,” Mr. Stein said. “The Lord is taking us to the next battle—there will be three more, according to Dr. Rosenzweig.”

As they reached the desert floor, people around them laughed and talked about following Jesus. Were they going to walk? Many of the remnant were small children, and others were elderly.

Lionel stared at the dust and shook his head. He had just seen thousands of the enemy killed by Jesus' words, and he was concerned about a sixty-mile trip?

Sam had wandered ahead and now ran back. “Come on. Run with us.”

“What do you mean?” Lionel said, but Sam pulled at his arm, making Lionel go faster. Lionel glanced up at Jesus who looked back and smiled, seeming to urge him on.

Lionel broke into a jog, and soon he was sprinting along with Sam, jumping over GC bodies and weapons, his feet barely touching the ground. He was moving faster than a human was supposed to run.

Lionel had done a research project in middle school about how fast humans could run. He had come up with a maximum speed of 27 miles per hour for sprinters, and an average speed of between 15 to 20 mph for those running distances of any kind.

But there was no way he was going 15 miles per hour now. Or even 30. Objects on the ground were a blur! And it wasn't only healthy young people going fast—it was all ages. Youngsters just out of diapers ran next to Lionel. And Mr. Stein was not far away, grinning and laughing. God was providing the speed. All Lionel had to do was work his legs.

“It's like riding a bike for two!” Mr. Stein called. “The Lord is the one doing the pedaling. We just have to get on and follow!”

The sensation of running three and maybe four times as fast as a human had ever run made Lionel laugh out loud. His feet moved faster, but his strides, instead of being a yard, took in ten feet with each step. The amazing thing was, Lionel didn't feel out of breath. His strength kept coming like the manna that fell every day.

Thirty minutes later, Lionel and his friends neared the town of Bozrah. The rest of the million inside Petra had arrived as well, drawn to the scene by Jesus himself.

Unity Army troops stood before them, looking haggard and tired. Huge sweat stains fouled their uniforms while the people from Petra looked like they had just returned from lunch at an air-conditioned restaurant.

“What happens now?” Lionel said.

Mr. Stein motioned to the depleted army. “I think they're foolish enough to attack.”

43

LIONEL
couldn't believe it when the Unity Army moved forward and unleashed everything they had on the unarmed men, women, and children. Soldiers at the front aimed guns and fired, while troops behind launched missiles, rockets, and mortars. The noise was deafening and the flash of fire was blinding, but every time a missile or rocket hit, even in the midst of the people, no one was hurt.

Lionel looked to his Savior. Over the roar of the battle, Jesus' voice could be heard clearly. “Come hear and listen, O nations of the earth. Let the world and everything in it hear my words. For the Lord is enraged against the nations. His fury is against all their armies. He will completely destroy them, bringing about their slaughter.”

As soon as Jesus spoke, soldiers and horses exploded. Lionel grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked closer. He focused on a soldier firing his weapon toward the remnant. The man's eyes grew wide, and he lowered his gun. Then his face bloated and turned red, as if his blood were boiling. The next second, the man's body blew into a million pieces, as did those around him.

“Their dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land. The mountains will flow with their blood. The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll. The stars will fall from the sky, just as withered leaves and fruit fall from a tree.”

Lionel again focused on the nearest soldiers. They threw down their weapons and dropped to their knees. Some shoved fists in the air at Christ, cursing him before they died. Instead of exploding, these were sliced in two, and their insides poured onto the desert floor. When those behind them saw, they turned to run, but the same thing happened to them. They were cut in two where they stood, and their blood gushed.

“When my sword has finished its work in the heavens, then watch,” Jesus said. “It will fall upon Edom, the nation I have completely destroyed. The sword of the Lord is drenched with blood. It is covered with fat as though it had been used for killing lambs and goats and rams for sacrifice. Yes, the Lord will offer a great sacrifice in the rich city of Bozrah. He will make a mighty slaughter in Edom. The land will be soaked with blood and the soil enriched with fat.”

Now the army fell like red sticks. Lionel couldn't tell whether Christ's judgment was coming from the air or from the earth as men and women who had pledged their lives to Carpathia were cut down.

An aircraft of some sort screamed in and landed at the other side of the slaughtered army. It was a jet helicopter, and someone mentioned it was for Nicolae.

The firing stopped. Except for the chopper, everything was deathly still. The craft lifted off and headed north, leaving the remnant to stare out on the valley of blood.

Sam touched Lionel's shoulder. “Look! The Lord Jesus is coming down.”

The King of kings landed and dismounted from his white horse. He walked through the battlefield, the hem of his robe turning red from the blood of the enemy.

The army of heaven that hovered above him began to speak in unison. “Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength?”

Jesus answered, “It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation! It is I, the Lord, who is mighty to save!”

“Why are your clothes so red, as if you have been treading out grapes?” they asked.

“I have trodden the winepress alone; no one was there to help me,” Jesus said. “In my anger I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury I have trampled my foes. It is their blood that has stained my clothes. For the time has come for me to avenge my people, to ransom them from their oppressors.

“I looked, but no one came to help my people. I was amazed and appalled at what I saw. So I executed vengeance alone; unaided, I passed down judgment. I crushed the nations in my anger and made them stagger and fall to the ground.”

The conversation continued back and forth until Jesus turned toward the remnant in Bozrah. “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived. Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. Let those in Jerusalem escape, and those outside the city should not enter it for shelter.

“For those will be the days of God's vengeance, and the prophetic words of the Scriptures will be fulfilled. … So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up, for your salvation is near!”