by Mark Goodwin
Courtney put her hands on her hips and looked around. “Well, they couldn’t have just disappeared.”
Everett’s heart began pounding the second he heard the word, disappeared. “Turn on the radio.”
“Why?”
Everett ignored the question and went to grab the radio. He switched it on and quickly turned to the local Global Republic Broadcasting Network affiliate.
The reporter had a thick British accent. “Secretary Luz and Pope Peter will be issuing a joint statement in a press conference at five o’clock Eastern. After their statement, the new Global Republic press secretary, Athaliah Jennings, will take questions from reporters.
“The Vatican has issued a formal statement about the mass disappearances, saying that it was an expected event, and as difficult as it may be to believe, it was caused by alien life forms. The statement goes on to say that the beings who caused the disappearances are not hostile to the humans who remain on earth. Some analysts expect the pope to say that the Vatican has been in contact with the aliens for quite some time and that the disappearances may turn out to be for the good of the planet.”
Everett turned the radio off. “They’re gone.”
“Why did you turn it off? The radio was telling us what happened!”
“No, it’s not. It’s a cover story.” Everett put his back against the wall and slid down to the floor.
“For what?”
“For the rapture. Jesus came to get the Christians. All that stuff Ken and Lisa tried to tell us about. It’s all true.”
Courtney sat on the floor next to Everett and took the radio out of his shaking hands. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. We don’t know anything for certain. Let’s put our coats on and go see Elijah. Ken and Lisa might be up there.”
“They won’t be. And Elijah won’t be there either. They’re all gone. All the Christians.”
Everett stood and went back into the bedroom. He sat down at the small desk and turned on the ham radio.
“Who are you calling? I thought Spindle was captured?”
Everett found the frequency. “Ken was staying in contact with the rest of his cell. I just want to see if they are still here.”
Everett pushed the talk button. “This is Undertow. I’m looking for Minecart.”
A despondent voice came back. “Hello.”
“This is Undertow; is Minecart there? Have you heard anything about Spindle?”
A woman sobbing in the background could be heard when the voice came back over the radio. “No. They’re gone. All of them. It’s just me and my girlfriend, Sarah.”
Everett keyed the mic. “You shouldn’t use your real names. Come up with a pseudonym, anything. How about I call you Mr. Black?”
“It doesn’t matter. They told us this would happen. We didn’t believe them. You have no idea what is coming next. Earthquakes, famines, plagues . . . judgment. Judgment is coming upon the earth. Sarah was training the women when it happened. They were in the woods performing a tactical drill one second, and the next, they were all gone. She turned around, and the rifles and clothing were lying on the forest floor. She thought it was a joke at first.”
Everett’s hand began to shake. “I know you’re distraught now, but you really shouldn’t use your real names, not even the names of the people who disappeared. Let’s call your girlfriend Ms. White.”
“Whatever. Like I said, it doesn’t matter now. And don’t believe the news. It wasn’t aliens.”
“I know; it was the rapture. We missed it, too. Just hang in there. We’ll be in touch.”
“Maybe. I gotta go.” Mr. Black cut the feed.
Courtney took Everett’s hand. “It just doesn’t make sense. There is a logical explanation for all of this. Come on; get up.”
Everett was just shy of being in a state of shock. He had no will to fight Courtney, who was insisting that they drive up to Elijah’s house. He stood up and let his arms hang limp as she put his coat on him. “We’re too late. They were right. Jones was right; Ken was right; Lisa was right; Elijah was right. Now I believe them, but it’s too late.”
Courtney grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door. “Everyone is going to be at Elijah’s house. Everything is going to be fine.” She opened the car door for Everett, gave him a nudge to sit down, and then closed the door on the passenger’s side of the BMW. Backing out of the driveway, she slammed into a tree trunk. “Sorry about that, but it will be worth it to find our friends.”
Everett said nothing about hitting the tree.
Courtney drove up the mountain and pulled into Elijah’s drive. She blew the horn twice. Elijah came to the door.
“Look, what did I tell you? Elijah is still here. I bet you anything that Ken and Lisa are inside drinking tea.”
Elijah walked out onto his porch as Everett and Courtney got out of the car. “Are you okay? You gave me quite a scare with the horn blowing.”
Courtney chuckled. “Sorry about that. Everett was convinced that you and Ken and Lisa had all disappeared. He had me sort of shook up with the whole thing. I guess I was a little panicky.”
Elijah furrowed his brow. “Yes, well, come inside. Come inside.”
Everett walked in and looked around. “Are Ken and Lisa here?”
“No.” The old man closed the door behind them.
Courtney looked confused. “Oh, do you know where they are?”
Elijah’s eyes were compassionate. “Why don’t you two come sit down in the kitchen; I’ll put on a pot of tea.”
Everett followed him into the kitchen. His voice was frantic. “It was the rapture, right? Jesus came to get the Christians, right? Why are you still here?”
Elijah put the tea bags in the kettle and filled it with water. “Yes, Messiah came for his saints. It was what you call the rapture.” Elijah turned on the gas stove and put the kettle on the burner. “Why am I still here? Now that’s a long story.”
Courtney’s eyes were worried. She seemed to be grasping the weight of the situation. “Tell us, please.”
Elijah sat down and folded his hands. “I was sent for such a time as this. Let’s think of our present predicament in the terms of international warfare. Just before a nation or, in this case, a kingdom declares war on another kingdom, the first thing that kingdom will do is close all of its embassies. And, of course, it will call all of its ambassadors home. That is what has happened. The ambassadors of heaven have been called home. The only ones left are those who act in an intelligence or warfare capacity, like secret agents.”
Everett looked at Elijah. “So there are others besides you?”
Elijah nodded. “One other. We were sent to bear witness to the coming times and pronounce judgment against the nations on behalf of Messiah.”
“Are you an angel?” Courtney looked very confused.
“No. I’m a man. God has seen fit to grant me a rather . . . unique existence. I was whisked away and then sent back. I can tell you, I didn’t miss it. But I won’t be around that long anyway.”
Everett had no idea what the old man was talking about. “Now I believe. I believe Jesus is real, but it’s too late.”
Courtney looked at Everett and nodded. “Lisa tried to tell me over and over. It just didn’t make sense. But how else can it be explained? The disappearances; it’s exactly the way she said it would happen. She said they would all just be gone someday. And she said the world would go through the most terrible time in history, even worse than what’s happening now. And we’re too late.”
Elijah smiled. “You’re too late to be caught up. It’s true; that ship has sailed. But, as long as you have breath in your lungs, it’s not too late to repent, call upon the name of the Messiah, and be saved. He is merciful and patient, not wanting that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and be saved.”
Everett looked deeply into Elijah’s eyes. “I repent; I’m sorry that I didn’t believe. I believe in Jesus. I believe he is God. What do I do? What do I say?”
“Me, too.” Courtney held Everett’s hand as she looked at the old man.
Elijah held his hand up. “Don’t tell me; tell him.”
Everett fell to his knees. “Jesus, forgive me. I’ve heard you knocking. I’ve found an excuse not to listen every time. But now I know. You are God.”
Courtney cried out, “Forgive me, Jesus. I’m sorry I didn’t believe. Lisa told me what terrible days are coming. I pray that you will help us get through them.”
Elijah stood and poured the tea. “Welcome to the family. Now for our next order of business; repentance means turning away from your sin. If Jesus really is Lord, as you have said, then you will allow him to be Lord of your life. The two of you are living in sin.”
Everett had no idea what Elijah was talking about. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not married.”
“Oh.” Everett paused for a second. “Courtney, will you marry me?”
Courtney smiled, and tears of joy streamed down her face. She wrapped her arms around Everett’s neck. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Elijah, will you perform the ceremony?”
“Yes, but it should be soon. When I get my marching orders, I have to go, right away.”
Everett looked at Courtney. “Tonight?”
She nodded with a grin from ear to ear. “Tonight!”
Everett felt peace like he’d never felt before in his life. That uneasiness he had felt, ever since Jones started confronting him about believing in God, was gone. He was in love with Courtney, more than ever before. They were about to go through the worst period of time since the creation of the earth. They had missed the rapture, but they hadn’t missed heaven.
AFTERWORD
I realize that the timing of the rapture in this book doesn’t fit perfectly into any of the major eschatological views. It would probably be best described as a hybrid pre-wrath viewpoint. The important thing to remember is that this is a fiction book. As Derek Gilbert of SkyWatch TV says, “Eschatology is too important of a subject to get your doctrine from the fiction aisle.”
Throughout the series, I tried to examine the different theories within the dialogue of the characters. Trust me, I’ve heard exceptionally compelling arguments for pre-trib, pre-wrath, and mid-trib schools of thought. The purpose of this series was not to promote any particular eschatological view, but rather to demonstrate just how bad conditions could deteriorate for the American church before the return of the King. And within that purpose was the secondary mission to encourage the American Christian to balance his spiritual and physical preparedness efforts and be ready for the dark days ahead.
Continue the adventure with:
The Days of Elijah, Book One: Apocalypse
When I set out to write The Days of Noah, I had always intended for it to terminate with the rapture. The subject of what the tribulation will look like for those left behind has been well covered by great Christian fiction writers. However, technology and society is progressing at such a rapid clip toward the reality of a one-world government, one-world currency, and total rejection of anything that is of Christ, that there is much to write about.
Due to a massive outpouring of requests for a subsequent series, I decided to write The Days of Elijah, a follow-up trilogy, which expounds upon the trials and tribulations, of Everett and Courtney Carol, Kevin Starkey and Sarah Alwood, and of course, the prophet Elijah.
Synopsis
After a massive wave of disappearances, twenty-six-year-old CIA analyst, Everett Carroll, finally believes what he’s been told about the biblical prophecy of the rapture. Global currencies have collapsed, famine and plague have claimed the lives of millions, and the world has crumbled into chaos.
As Elijah helps Everett and Courtney understand the terrible times that are decreed unto the world in the coming judgments, they realize that they’ll have to do everything they can to survive the gauntlet of destruction known as the Great Tribulation. Seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials of God’s wrath are about to be poured out upon the earth and woe to the inhabitants thereof!
The Days of Elijah, Book One: Apocalypse is a fast-paced thrill ride through the last days in America. Buy your copy of this end-times adventure today . . . if you can stomach the peril.
Don’t Panic!
Inevitably, books like this will wake folks up to the need to be prepared, or cause those of us who are already prepared to take inventory of our preparations. New preppers can find the task of getting prepared for an economic collapse, EMP, or societal breakdown to be a source of great anxiety. It shouldn’t be. By following an organized plan and setting a goal of getting a little more prepared each day, you can do it.
I always try to include a few prepper tips in my novels, but they’re fiction and not a comprehensive plan to get prepared. Now that you’re motivated to start prepping, the last thing I want to do is leave you frustrated, not knowing what to do next. So, I’d like to offer you a free PDF copy of The Seven Step Survival Plan.
For the new prepper, The Seven Step Survival Plan provides a blueprint that prioritizes the different aspects of preparedness and breaks them down into achievable goals. For seasoned preppers who often get overweight in one particular area of preparedness, The Seven Step Survival Plan provides basic guidelines to help keep their plan in balance, and ensures they’re not missing any critical segments of a well-adjusted survival strategy.
Click HERE To get your free PDF copy of The Seven Step Survival Plan.
Thank you for reading
The Days of Noah,
Book Three: Perdition
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If you liked The Days of Noah, you’ll love
Behold, Darkness and Sorrow
Ambitious college student, Daniel Walker, has his world turned upside down when he begins having prophetic dreams about the judgment coming upon America. Through one of his dreams, Daniel learns about an imminent threat of an EMP attack which will wipe out America’s electric grid, sending the country into a technological dark age.
Living in a nation where all life-sustaining systems of support are completely dependent on electricity and computers, the odds for survival are dismal. If he wants to live through the most catastrophic period in American history, Daniel will have to race against time to get prepared, before the lights go out.
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