The Left Behind Collection: All 12 Books (414 page)

“Cleburn,” Jesus said to Mac, “come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”

Priscilla Sebastian responded, “Lord, when did I see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?”

Enoch said, “When did I see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?”

Razor said, “When did I see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?”

And Jesus said in Spanish, “Assuredly, I say to you, Razor, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.”

“Thank You, Jesus,” Razor said, bowing his head. But he was distracted by a commotion from those to the left of the throne. He looked up in time to see Jesus stand and walk to the edge of the platform.

With anger and yet sadness, He said, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.”

The millions began shouting and pleading, “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?”

Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. You will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

“No! No! No!”

But despite their numbers and the dissonance of their desperate bawling, Jesus could be heard above them. “As the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

“We honor You! We do! You are Lord!”

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

“But My Father has given Me authority to execute judgment also, because I am the Son of Man. I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”

“Jesus is Lord!” the condemned shouted. “Jesus is Lord!”

Gabriel stepped forward as Jesus returned to the throne. “Silence!” Gabriel commanded. “Your time has come!”

Rayford watched, horrified despite knowing this was coming, as the “goats” to Jesus’ left beat their breasts and fell wailing to the desert floor, gnashing their teeth and pulling their hair. Jesus merely raised one hand a few inches and a yawning chasm opened in the earth, stretching far and wide enough to swallow all of them. They tumbled in, howling and screeching, but their wailing was soon quashed and all was silent when the earth closed itself again.

Everyone on the platform was back in their place, and from the throne Jesus said, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so it shall stand.”

“Astounding,” Chaim said.

“Hmm?” Rayford said.

“I know that verse,” Chaim said, “but think about it. What He merely thinks comes to pass, and whatever He purposes will stand.”

Rayford was spent, as he assumed all the “sheep” and “brethren” were. Despite every horror he had witnessed during the Tribulation and the Glorious Appearing, the death and eternal punishment of millions all at once overwhelmed everything else.

“I know, Rayford,” Jesus said. “Now rest your mind. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Listen now as My servant comforts you.”

Gabriel came forward again. He said, “God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

“Through Him you have received grace. You also are the called of Jesus Christ; grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In His gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’

“The wrath of God has been revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppressed the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God was manifest in them, for God had shown it to them.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes were clearly seen, being understood by the things that were made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

“Amen!” the assembled shouted.

“These who have been cast into outer darkness and await the Great White Throne Judgment a thousand years hence were indeed without excuse. God sent His Holy Spirit as on the Day of Pentecost, plus the two preachers from heaven who proclaimed His gospel for three and a half years, plus 144,000 witnesses from the twelve tribes. Endless warnings and acts of mercy were extended to these who continued to be lovers of themselves rather than of God.”

It hit Rayford that all who were left were believers, worshipers of Christ, and that he was among those who would populate the Millennium.

Gabriel gestured that everyone should sit. When all were situated, he smiled broadly and pronounced loudly, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

“The Mighty One, God the Lord, has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. Our God has come, and shall not keep silent; He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people!”

With that Jesus stood and Gabriel moved to stand behind the throne with the other angels. And Jesus said, “Gather My saints together to Me, those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice! Come forth!”

From everywhere, from the earth and beyond the clouds, came the souls of those who had died in faith, whom Chaim and Tsion had often referred to as “the believing dead,” and whom Rayford knew now also included Tsion himself—along with many more of Rayford’s friends and loved ones.

All these were gathered around the throne between Jesus and the assembled tribulation saints. They were arrayed in white robes, gleaming and pristine. Rayford looked for Chloe and Buck, for Tsion and Albie, Bruce Barnes, Amanda, Hattie, Ken, Steve, and the rest, but there were too many.

Jesus began by honoring the saints of the Old Testament, those Rayford had only heard and read about. Rather than handling this the way He had the individual audiences with the tribulation saints—supernaturally doing them all in what seemed to be an instant—Jesus this time gave the spectators His strength and patience. The ceremony must have gone for days, Rayford eventually decided, but he felt neither hunger nor thirst, no fatigue, not even an ache or a cramp from sitting in the sand that long. He loved every minute, knowing that when Jesus finished with the Old Testament saints, he would get to the tribulation martyrs. Waiting for his friends and loved ones to be recognized would be akin to waiting for Chloe’s name to be called when she graduated from high school, but the reunion afterward would make it all worthwhile.

Abdullah drank it all in. He glanced at his watch every few hours and realized how long it had taken to cover most of the Old Testament saints. Many he had never heard of—either he had not studied enough or these were some whose exploits had not been recorded. And yet God knew. He knew their hearts, knew of their sacrifice, knew of their faith. And one by one Jesus honored them as He embraced them and they knelt at His feet, and He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”