Light of the Last

by Chuck Black

  On occasion, Jake and Kathryn came to hear Drew speak. Drew could tell God was drawing them, but he didn’t push. This was a whole new experience for them, so he let them ask questions, and he and Sydney gently gave them answers. Drew also began to study the Bible with zeal, and it came alive, just as Sydney promised it would.

  One Sunday morning after Drew had spoken at a small church in Dallas, Texas, a middle-aged gentleman came to shake his hand.

  “Thank you for all you’ve done, and for being willing to be used of God.”

  Drew noticed the man wore an army chaplain pin. “And thank you, sir, for ministering to our troops.”

  The man’s smile warmed his heart. “I’m retired and don’t normally attend here, but when I heard you were speaking, I had to come see you. I remember a man by the name of Ryan Carter when I was serving as a chaplain in Afghanistan.”

  Drew’s smile faded, and his world fell numb around him. A man from his dad’s past. What grieved him beyond words was that he had never heard his dad talk about God or Jesus Christ as Savior. He couldn’t dwell on it too long or it would break his heart. Now it looked as if he might have to face it head on.

  “You have his resemblance. Are you related?” the man asked.

  Drew struggled. He didn’t want this to happen…not now. “Ryan Carter was my dad.”

  The man’s smile faded too.

  “He passed when I was twelve,” Drew said.

  “I’m…so sorry. I never knew.” The man was obviously embarrassed. “I was moved around a lot, so my time with him was brief.”

  “How did you know my dad?”

  “Ryan began attending my Bible studies when he could fit it in between missions. I had the joy of leading him to the Lord.”

  Drew’s eyes immediately filled with tears. How could it be? Was it really possible? He tried to talk, but he had a hard time forming the words. “How?” he managed.

  The man looked somewhat bewildered. “Didn’t you know?”

  Drew just shook his head as tears spilled down his cheeks. Sydney joined him.

  “Watching you today, I was reminded of him.” The man reached for Drew’s hand again and held it with both of his. Now his eyes welled up with tears. “Your father had questions that let me know he was really searching for God. I think the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan really affected him. When I started sharing God’s love with him, he was anxious to receive it. The day I knelt with him and heard him pray to accept Christ as Lord was a marvelous day. He said he couldn’t wait to tell his family.”

  Drew had read the last letter from his dad so many times he had memorized it. Even now he could hear the words of his dad in his ear as he thought of the last part of the letter.

  “Kathryn, I have some very exciting news to share with you, but it is something I feel I need to share in person. I love you so very much and can’t wait to see you again soon. Please tell Drew that I miss him and that…”

  Was this the news that he wanted to share with Drew and his mother? News untold until now?

  Drew sat with the man for the next hour, soaking up every detail he could from the chaplain who had led his dad to the Lord. That which Drew had dreaded since he had come to Christ was instead a blessing beyond belief. Drew arranged for the chaplain to meet with his mother and Jake a few days later. In great tears of joy, this same chaplain led Kathryn and Jake to Jesus Christ, just as he had done for Ryan Carter over twelve years earlier.

  —

  Four months later, Pastor Worthington, Reverend Ray, and six other pastors from around the country hosted an event calling all of America to spiritual renewal. Drew would be their voice as television stations throughout the nation broadcasted the event.

  Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, began to fill two hours before the event. After a time of powerful worship, Drew looked up and saw the air above the people filled with thousands of angels singing praises to God along with His saints. And then Pastor Worthington took the stage.

  “Sydney, help me…I can’t do this,” Drew said as he looked around the stadium filled with people.

  Sydney lifted his hand to her lips and kissed his fingers. “It’s not for you to do. It’s for God to do.” She smiled and gazed into his eyes. “Just be you, Drew, and God will take care of the rest. ‘Take no thought how or what you shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what you shall speak.’ ”

  Her words and loving eyes soothed him. He covered her hand with his and squeezed. The butterflies in his stomach subsided until he heard Dr. Worthington begin an introduction.

  “We have the privilege of hearing a man upon whom God has poured out His anointing. This is a man who has been in the trenches of spiritual warfare. A man who has been in the trenches of physical warfare. A man who helped save the United States of America from the tyranny of terrorism and political corruption. Please join me in welcoming to the stage Drew Carter, the guardian of our freedom!”

  The stadium immediately erupted in thunderous applause, and as Drew stood up to approach the stage, so did over 100,000 people. Drew froze—terrified, humbled, and overwhelmed.

  Sydney grabbed his hand again and whispered in his ear. “God is with you. He has been from the very beginning.”

  Drew looked down at her with reddened eyes. She was the one who should be speaking to these people, for her faith had been his guiding light all along.

  He squeezed her hand and began the long journey to the podium. On stage, Pastor Worthington greeted him with a vigorous handshake and an encouraging smile. The roaring applause and cheers were almost too much for him to take as the continual waves of sound assaulted his ears.

  Worthington leaned close so Drew would be able to hear him. “They just want to hear your heart, Drew. God will give you the words to speak.”

  Drew swallowed hard and tried to smile back. Mr. Worthington ushered him to the podium, then left the stage. Drew placed his hands on the podium and hung on. He lifted his eyes to see a sea of humanity that refused to cease its applause. His tongue and mouth became dry, his hands shook, and his mind was blank. He lifted his eyes farther and prayed.

  “Dear God, please give me the strength, and give me Your words to speak.”

  Drew tried to talk, but the people would not stop. After two more attempts, the applause slowly began to diminish until the stadium fell to complete and utter respectful silence.

  And as Drew opened his mouth to speak, the Holy Spirit filled him and gave him utterance.

  Validus stood next to Michael, enthralled with the power of Ruach Elohim to change the heart of one and to also change the hearts of tens of thousands. He ached for Persimus to be with him, for he knew how thrilled his friend would have been to see this day.

  “I don’t understand, Archangel. Tinsalik Barob said that Carter was the last salvation before the End of Days, before Gideon’s trumpet would sound.”

  Michael’s gaze swept across the stadium—one hundred thousand souls here and millions more listening on television.

  “The Fallen never heard the whole message. Carter is not the last salvation,” the archangel said with a rare wisp of a smile. “He is the last witness!”

  It took a moment for Validus to assimilate that one simple truth and compare it with all that he had experienced with the man. Of course, he thought. How could I have missed it! A great witness of the gospel would be a thousand times more devastating to the enemies of God. The last salvation would happen through the last witness…Drew Carter!

  Validus looked at Michael. The first angel always knew more, always saw further.

  Michael turned and looked at Validus, his smile fading to his usual stone-serious face. “But although he is the last witness, he is not alone. There is another.”

  Validus’s mind ran wild with speculation. Another…another like Carter? One of the lineage?

  “Another, Archangel?”

  Michael’s gaze tore right through him. “You don’t think Apollyon is just going to give up do yo
u? Yes, there is another.”

  Illumination hit Validus with near physical force. John the Revelator was given the prophecy of two witnesses. He smiled as he thought of General Danick and the Lineage Legion. How precious now was the knowledge that they were protecting prophecy all along. Nothing had been sacrificed in vain.

  Michael turned back to look at the man. Carter’s arms were raised toward heaven, and the blue flames of God were bursting through him, piercing the souls of tens of thousands. Validus thought of the billions of souls in the Middle Realm yet to hear the truth of the Holy One. Earth needed more than just two, it need an army of witnesses!

  “You’ve done well, Validus, but Carter is more of a target for the Fallen than ever before. Elohim has great work for him to do, and you must be by his side, ready and vigilant. The days are short, and this man will play a vital role in it all. We dare not slumber.”

  As Carter offered up a powerful prayer of praise to Elohim, the arcing flames of Ruach Elohim pierced men, women, and angels alike. Validus felt His power resonating in his soul. “I am ready.”

  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

  —MATTHEW 24:14

  READERS GUIDE

  CHAPTER 1

  In My Distress

  Drew Carter finds himself in a very distressing situation with all odds against him. As an unbeliever, he has no one to turn to for help when there seems to be no solution to the problems he faces. A Christian has access to strength and hope through the Lord.

  In my distress I cried to the LORD, and He heard me. (Psalm 120:1)

  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

  CHAPTER 2

  Life for a Life

  Drew attempts to bargain his life for Sydney’s, Ben’s, and Jake’s freedom, but in the end he is only partially successful. Only a perfect, guiltless mediator could successfully accomplish such a thing, and that is exactly what Jesus Christ did for humanity through His sacrifice on the cross. In exchange for our freedom, Jesus paid the brutal price by His death. How precious is the blood of Christ!

  And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. (1 Peter 1:17–21)

  CHAPTER 3

  Lose Sight, Lose Fight

  As a fighter pilot, I once learned a valuable lesson while dog-fighting with a fellow pilot who was more experienced than I. During the engagement, I lost sight of his jet, and he was able to quickly maneuver into position and launch a simulated missile to kill me. During the debrief he told me that if you ever lose sight of the enemy, you will lose the fight. It is very easy to lose sight of who we are fighting in this world. Sydney tries to open Drew’s eyes to the real battle that is raging around him by offering Ephesians 6:12.

  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

  We must keep our eyes upon Christ as the author and finisher of our faith, but it is also very wise to take Peter’s warning to heart and never lose sight of who the real enemy is.

  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

  CHAPTER 4

  A Haunting Past

  When Kathryn discovers a forgotten letter from her mother, a frightful past is revealed. Her mother tries to encourage Kathryn to be free from their past, but there is only One who can truly give us a new beginning: Jesus Christ.

  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

  Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” (Revelation 21:5)

  Lineages

  The tracing of lineages throughout the Bible, especially that of the Messiah, is deemed of utmost importance. This theme seems to continue on into the book of Revelation, when 144,000 people are sealed, 12,000 each from the twelve tribes of Israel. In Light of the Last, the lineage theme is used in a speculative way in regard to our hero, Drew Carter.

  And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed. (Revelation 7:4)

  CHAPTER 5

  No Greater Joy

  Every good parent desires their children to make wise choices and to walk in truth and integrity. Even people who don’t love God but are moral and upright hope for this in their children. The angst and then great relief we see in Kathryn is evident when she sees that Drew is a young man of integrity who is committed to doing that which is right.

  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. (3 John 1:4)

  CHAPTER 6

  The Personalities of Angels

  It is easy to homogenize God’s holy angels into flat, personality-less beings, but that just doesn’t fit the creative genius of God Almighty. One could argue that angels are potentially more dynamic and varied in personality than even their human charges. At a minimum, Scripture indicates that angels are perfect, holy, fierce, and joyful (see Isaiah 37:36; Job 38:7; Matthew 25:31). This chapter’s speculative glimpse into some of the different personalities angels may have is an attempt to offer a more realistic view of God’s mighty warriors.

  Desperately Wicked

  The Holocaust was the systematic persecution and murder of approximately six million Jews by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. This was two-thirds of the Jews living in Europe during World War II. The Holocaust is a dramatic reminder that no matter how “advanced” mankind becomes, its propensity to do evil is always great.

  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

  Only by accepting Jesus Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit can a person be renewed and changed into a vessel of righteousness.

  For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3–7)

  CHAPTER 7

  Recruitment

  Validus recruits angels with varying skills and abilities with the intention of being well prepared for the battles to come. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, not only is he saved from an eternity in hell, but he is recruited into an army that is called to battle evil on every front. It is important to understand this vital aspect of following Christ, for it is a weighty responsibility God has placed on us. The souls of millions hang in the balance.

  You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. (2 Timothy 2:3–4)

  When God enlists us into this spiritual war, he bestows on us different gifts to fight well. According to 1 Corint
hians 12, these gifts are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, and the interpretation of tongues. It is also extremely important and rather ironic that our greatest weapon in this epic spiritual war is love.

  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13; see also 1 Corinthians 13:1–12)

  CHAPTER 8

  The Sin of Unbelief

  Validus is frustrated because of Drew’s unbelief. The natural conclusion is that if Drew could see a sign of the truth, he would believe. But the heart of a prideful person will always find some excuse not to believe. Jesus had harsh words for the scribes and Pharisees when they asked for a sign.

  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:38–39)

  The sin of unbelief is always rooted in pride.

  Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. (Hebrews 3:12–13)

  CHAPTER 9

  Terrorism and the Tactics of Satan Versus the Love of God