The Time of Jacob's Trouble

by Donna VanLiere

  The activity on the ground does not cause panic within the Ministry of Defense; they knew this day was coming. There is the grave realization that there has been no better time than now for Israel’s enemies to try to wipe Israel from the map. Their greatest ally, the United States, has been devastated through the disappearance of millions and the near ruin of its military and is unable to help. At this point, the two-state solution with the Palestinians is nothing more than a flimsy piece of paper.

  The defense minister, a stern-looking man with heavy jowls, regards the magnitude of the words of his chiefs of staff and generals and what this means for their country.

  CHAPTER 13

  Queens, NY

  Emma hadn’t prayed in years but found herself shouting, “God, save us! Don’t let them kill us!” as an intercontinental ballistic missile hit the city. Prayers rushed out as cries and screams as the possibility of death gripped her soul. Emma’s thoughts began and ended with her family. Images of her mom and dad and Sarah riding bikes, playing basketball in the driveway, and eating dinner together played like a reel of film in slow motion in her mind as the sounds of war erupted in the heart of the city. Her body felt cold, yet she was sweating; she could feel her heart pounding under her ribs. The group sat in unnerving silence hours after the explosion was heard, before finally deciding to leave the basement and slowly creep up the stairs as if to the gallows.

  Their apartment building lost power during the attack and the entire building is wrapped in quiet as Matt and Emma enter their apartment. Matt rushes to the kitchen sink and turns on the faucet. “We still have water.”

  “For now,” she says, skeptical that it will last.

  “We have it. So that’s something.”

  They walk together to the window and look out over the gutted city. A cloud of ash the pallor of death hangs over the city, and thick plumes of smoke stain the white clouds gray. The building blocks of the once-great city are now mangled heaps of stone and iron, glass and marble, gravestones for the dead who lie beneath. The brutal reality of the view sucks the breath from Emma’s lungs and she gasps for air. “My God!” she says sobbing. “I can’t…” She presses her hands against the window. “I can’t believe…” Matt reaches for her arm and pulls her from the window. “What do we do?” she asks as she wraps her arms around him, weeping. “What do we do?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out.”

  “We’re going to die.”

  He pushes her from him, grabbing her arms. “We’re not going to die! Look at us. We’re alive!”

  Her eyes are hollow and dark as she looks at him. “For how long?”

  Elliott sits close to the window for sunlight, opens the Bible, and prays for help as he begins reading in Matthew, where Kennisha suggested he begin. He feels his heart flapping like a bird trying to take flight for the first time; here, he sees Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob listed in the genealogy of Jesus. “Jesus is from the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David!” he says aloud. He continues reading as fast as he can and says, “All of these people are Jewish!”

  He notices a note in the margin written by Kennisha’s sister, Kaala: Isaiah 53. He knows who the prophet Isaiah is and flips to the table of contents at the beginning, trying to find his name. He turns to the pages for Isaiah and finds chapter 53, reading, “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” Further on he reads,

  Surely he took up our pain

  and bore our suffering,

  yet we considered him punished by God,

  stricken by him, and afflicted.

  But he was pierced for our transgressions,

  he was crushed for our iniquities.

  Elliott’s heart beats faster as he reads and realizes this entire chapter, written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, is about Jesus. He looks again at verse one. “To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?” His eyes fill at the words. “You have been revealed to me,” he says. He sits in silence, grateful and humbled and desperate in a way he’s never felt before.

  When Elliott begins to read again from Matthew, he pauses in chapter 4 when Jesus says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” He looks at the words and realizes this is his mission: to bring people to repentance because the kingdom of heaven is nearer than ever before. He raises his arms, looking up. “I’m not qualified to do this. I don’t know how.” He waits in the stillness, hoping for an audible voice or the light of Jesus to fill the room again. He looks down at the page and reads about the calling of the apostles, following another side note written by Kaala in the margin and turns back to Isaiah. This time to chapter 43:

  “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,

  “and my servant whom I have chosen,

  so that you may know and believe me

  and understand that I am he.

  Before me no god was formed,

  nor will there be one after me.

  I, even I, am the LORD,

  and apart from me there is no savior.

  I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—

  I, and not some foreign god among you.

  You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,

  “that I am God.

  Yes, and from ancient days I am he.

  No one can deliver out of my hand.

  When I act, who can reverse it?”

  Elliott’s mouth falls open as he gapes at the words. God has used two hand-scribbled notes in Kaala’s Bible to speak to him through this ancient text. He is God’s witness, a chosen servant who would point people to the Savior, and that has left no room for argument.

  “Forgive me,” he whispers.

  CHAPTER 14

  Queens, NY

  The endless wail of sirens in the streets and the whir of helicopter blades in the air have been constant noises since the city was destroyed. The sirens’ high-pitched squeals would be nerve-shattering if Emma’s weren’t already stripped bare. “I want to know if my sister is okay,” she says, her voice quivering. Wedding magazines still lay on the coffee table, but Emma hasn’t noticed them. The idea of a wedding is absurd now. “What if I never get to talk to her again?”

  Matt moves to her side on the sofa. “You will. They just need to get the power fixed and cell towers working.”

  “The electrical grid would need to be rebuilt, Matt! Cell towers are destroyed. Everything’s gone.”

  “It’ll just take some time, but…”

  She screams over him. “Look at the city, Matt! Who can fix that?” Her eyes are bloodshot and swollen from crying as she looks out the window in disbelief. “I hate not knowing what’s happened to Sarah. I’m so afraid.”

  “She lives in a small town. I’m sure she’s safe,” Matt says.

  “This doesn’t even feel like our city anymore. It doesn’t feel like our apartment.” She bolts upright on the sofa. “We need to get out of the city. We need a gun!”

  Matt puts his hand on Emma’s leg. “We have to try to stay calm. We’ll take it a day at a time and see what we need.” He looks down at her lap and notices a book. “Is that a Bible?”

  She nods, picking it up. “I found it in Mrs. Ramos’s bag.”

  He looks at her. “Were you reading it?”

  “There has to be something in here, Matt. There’s a reason in here that Mrs. Ramos and her family and my mom are gone.”

  He shakes his head. “We’ve been through this, and…”

  She doesn’t let him finish. “No. We haven’t been through this,” she says, holding the Bible closer to his face. “The only things we’ve been through are our own ideas and opinions. You said there’s no way that it could be Jesus who came for his people, but how is that fact?”

  Matt stands to his feet, irritated. “It’s farfetched. That’s all I’m saying.”

  “But aliens, Satan, or biochemical warfare aren’t farfetched? How can you go throughout the day just accepting that it was one of those theories or some
sort of nuclear holocaust, and not want to research to see if there’s something more in here? There have to be answers in here about the end of the world, Matt. Why would God tell us about the beginning of the world but not the end? We’ve heard about the apocalypse and 666 and other stuff, so the end has to be in here somewhere!” She says, looking in the Bible.

  He shrugs, standing in front of her. “I don’t know. You heard some of those people on TV. Maybe the earth was cleansed from all the bigoted haters.”

  Emma hasn’t had time yet to grieve the loss of her mom, let alone the loss of her city and possibly her country, and can’t deal with this; she feels like she’s losing control and finds herself screaming. “My mom wasn’t a bigot! She didn’t hate anybody. She loved you and Brandon and Rick! You know how much she loved you. How could you say that?” She bursts into tears, and he pulls her into him.

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I know that. Your mom was awesome. I’m just so exhausted that I’m sick.” She looks at him and nods as he kisses her forehead. “I’m sorry, Em. I’m just so tired.”

  He leaves her alone, and she feels the tears welling again.

  CHAPTER 15

  Israel

  Zerah and his family have been in the bomb shelter for nearly two days. With five extra mouths to feed, his mother and father have only been able to serve a couple of small meals. All of Israel is still in shock after seeing the images and reports coming from the United States, their one true ally in the world. So many US cities have been decimated that it now looks like a third-world country. By all accounts, it appears that Iran and Russia targeted “the Great Satan’s” major cities with nukes and activated terrorist sleeper cells that had been prepositioned for years within the United States to carry out bombings on what was code-named “Judgment Day.”

  Unable to stop a chain of events that was spinning out of control within the country, the US military struck back at Iran and Russia in what limited capacity it had, but the damage had been done. As one news anchor said, “The supergiant of the world, the United States, has been slain.”

  Zerah feels sick to his stomach listening to the stories and watching the charred images of the once-great United States. Electrical grids and cell towers are destroyed following the attacks on several major cities, and many US citizens have yet to know if family and friends are alive. The videos and pictures that flash on the screen are incomprehensible. With the United States hobbled, what does that mean for the rest of the world? What does it mean for Israel? Though their history together had been strained at times, there is no other nation that would come to the defense of Israel like the United States. Despite a two-state solution and peace treaty that was put in place by President Banes between Israel and Palestine, it won’t be long before Israel’s enemies turn their greatest weapons against her.

  For the last several hours, news reports have been swirling about wars that have erupted throughout the globe; the entire planet seems to be launching missiles and attacking their enemies. A group of world leaders has announced that, in response to the disappearances, wars, and chaos throughout the globe, they are planning to meet in Europe. They offer promises of “peace and protection during this time of unprecedented world upheaval.”

  Zerah has attempted to reach everyone on his contact list, wondering if those he knows are still here. If someone mentions that they know a person who has disappeared, he excuses himself from the bomb shelter and speaks quietly on the phone. In every instance, the person who has disappeared has been a follower of Jesus. For all his years of scientific training, he can’t wrap his mind around this; nothing makes sense. And while he wants to talk this through with someone, he knows he can’t utter a word inside these walls.

  He hasn’t stopped thinking about his conversation with Tavi. As his mother and sister begin preparations for their simple meal, and he and his father and brother-in-law, Amir, watch TV reports, he types the few words he remembers from his call with Tavi into his phone: partial hardening of Israel. It takes a while due to slower-than-usual Internet service, but little by little, results begin to pop up on his screen. He realizes the first result is taking him to the New Testament and he looks up at his father and brother-in-law, engrossed in the TV. He is reluctant to click on any of the results, but feels that he must. He waits a moment longer before clicking. After what feels like several minutes, Romans 11:25-26 appears on the screen:

  I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

  “The Deliverer will come from Zion,

  he will banish ungodliness from Jacob.”

  It doesn’t make sense. There’s the word mystery that he recalls Tavi saying, but what is the hardening of Israel? He also remembers Tavi said that everything feels dark, followed by a news reporter saying it felt like “evil was in the air,” and his sense of foreboding and feeling of uncertainty are stronger now. He wishes he had never dug into this. He’s about to close the site when he sees the words full chapter and clicks, painstakingly waiting for it to load before reading from the beginning:

  I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? “LORD, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

  What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written,

  “God gave them a spirit of stupor,

  eyes that would not see

  and ears that would not hear,

  down to this very day.”

  What is this? Zerah thinks. Questions and thoughts swirl in his mind. Who is this Jew, this descendent of Abraham who wrote this? And there’s that word hardened again. Eyes that could not see. Ears that could not hear. He doesn’t understand any of it. His heart is pounding and he can’t read anymore. He stands up to get away from the sound of the TV and moves toward the door.

  “What’s wrong Zerah?” Rada asks. “You look ill.”

  He looks at her and his mother trying to parse together a small meal for the family. “Just concerned,” he says, wishing he could sit down and have a conversation with his sister. “I’m going upstairs for some air.”

  “You mustn’t do that, Zerah,” his mother says, stepping toward him.

  He takes hold of her hands, smiling. “I need to breathe some fresh air, Mom. I promise you that no one will see my nose in the window.” He squeezes her hands and smiles at Rada. “I will be back in a couple of minutes.”

  His mind is swimming as he cranks open a window in the living room. He rests his head against the screen, letting the breeze lift his hair and fill his nostrils.

  “What is wrong, Zerah?”

  He jumps and turns to see Rada. “I got lightheaded is all. The news. The same four walls closing in on us.”

  She tries to smile, but it’s hard to fake anything right now. Zerah has always loved his sister. He was her fierce defender when she was a little girl, but when she turned seven or eight, he realized she could defend herself and everyone else in the household. She is funny and bright; a wonderful mother and the best friend he’s ever had.

  Her eyes reveal concern as she whispers, “What did you read on your phone?”

  To discover more about the biblical facts behind the story, read Where in the Word? on page 213, or continue reading the novel.

  CHAPTER 16

  Queens, NY

  Emma positio
ns a chair near the window so she can see better and looks in the back of Mrs. Ramos’s Bible at the concordance for any clue as to what has happened. She looks under “Jesus” and there are so many entries that she feels overwhelmed, but begins to tackle the reading. After a few hours she feels as though she’s still floundering yet reads the next entry in the concordance: 1 Thessalonians 4.

  We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

  She stops, rereading the passage. Then she reads aloud, beginning in the middle of verse 15: “We who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.” Her heart begins to race and she sits upright on the chair, holding the Bible closer to her face and still reading aloud. “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” She puts her hand on her head. “Oh my God!” She stands as she reads, “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” She falls to the chair and stares at the Bible. “Does it really say this?”

  She reads the words again and again, her heart thumping against her ribs.

  Elliott has slept only in spurts since Kennisha gave him her sister’s Bible. With the exception of nodding off for five or ten minutes here and there, he has read it almost nonstop, including by candlelight when darkness falls. Until the electricity can be fixed (if it can be), the building and the city itself sit in unnerving blackness at night. Each time he sleeps, his dreams are vivid and powerful as the Holy Spirit carries him along, teaching and instructing him. He wakens with a jolt, his neck strained from his position in the chair. He moves to the table, spreading the Bible open in front of him. For the last day he has wanted to run to the streets to help the people who have survived the bombing but lost their apartments or homes. They have taken shelter inside local missions or churches, but each time Elliott wants to leave his apartment, he senses the Holy Spirit telling him to stay and learn and prepare.