by Tim LaHaye
CHAPTER 13
Rayford had to smile. Here were the southern flanks of the remaining two-thirds of Antichrist’s Global Community Unity Army all right, but they looked little more organized and ready to fight than did the corpses left in Edom. Perhaps that’s why Carpathia was nowhere to be found, and from the transmissions they could hear, he was on his way farther north to the center of his fighting force in Megiddo.
Both Tsion Ben-Judah and Chaim Rosenzweig had been telling Rayford for years that of all the prophetic passages in Scripture, the final four battles between Jesus and the Armageddon armies were the most difficult to understand and put in sequence.
“Our best bet is to follow Jesus,” Rayford said.
“There’s a sermon if I ever heard one,” Mac said.
“These battles are going to take place where they’re going to take place, and the only thing I’m sure of is who wins.”
“Well,” Abdullah said, “I am sure of a little more than that.”
Rayford saw Mac shoot Abdullah a double take. “Ya don’t say, Smitty. Pray tell.”
“I have been studying.”
“Studyin’ what?”
“Geography mostly. On my own.”
“That can be dangerous.”
“I have found it most informative.”
“And I’d like to hear it, Abdullah,” Rayford said.
Mac shook his head and settled back. “Oh, boy. Here we go.”
“I had been most curious,” Abdullah said, “why all of history pointed to Armageddon for the end. I mean, what is Armageddon? It is a place with many names and actually covers a lot of ground.”
“You shoulda been a perfessor, Smitty,” Mac said.
“Hush, Mac. Teach on, Abdullah.”
“Well, you are both fliers, and you have many times seen the mountain ranges that run the length of Palestine.”
“Sure, off the Mediterranean coast.”
“You know the break where the mountains all of a sudden drop to altitudes of about three hundred feet or less?”
“Up there where the highlands split off from the northern hills of Galilee?”
“Exactly. That is the Jezreel Valley.”
“I always thought that was the Plain of Esdraelon,” Mac said, “or however you say it.”
“Very good, Mac,” Abdullah said. “Gold star for you. Jezreel is the Hebrew word for it. Esdraelon is the Greek.”
“Well, I’ll be. You have been studyin’.”
“There’s more. Some people call it the Plain of Megiddo, because of the city immediately to the west of it. And that’s where we get the word Armageddon.”
“Where?” Mac said. “You lost me, teach.”
“Armageddon comes from the Hebrew Har Megiddo, which means Mount Megiddo.”
“You have been doin’ your homework, boy.”
“Experts say Megiddo has been the site of more wars than any other single place in the world because it is so strategically located. Thirteen battles by the end of the first century alone. Some say Megiddo has been built twenty-five times and destroyed twenty-five times.”
“Isn’t Jesus’ hometown up there somewhere? Nazareth?”
“On the northern side of the valley,” Abdullah said. “Imagine how it will feel for Him to fight an entire army that close to home.”
Indicative of the uncertainty of the Unity Army forces, their Hummer was virtually ignored. The army seemed to have its eyes trained on Jesus, just like everyone else, warily watching Him with His saints behind Him. The way news traveled on battlefields, no doubt these troops were also aware of the slaughters in Edom.
Rayford advised Abdullah to steer clear of the army. Though he remained confident that they were invulnerable now, nothing would be gained by drawing fire.
“I’m probably gonna regret askin’ this, Smitty,” Mac said, “but what’d you learn about Megiddo and all that, besides the names? I mean, what is so strategic about it?”
Rayford was amused at how Abdullah warmed to the topic. Mac had to be even more surprised than Ray. It wasn’t often that Abdullah was in a position to teach his elders. But he seemed to have this down well.
“It is the perfect stage of history,” Abdullah said. “Mount Megiddo is really not much more than a hill. For centuries it was the place from which the strategic pass was guarded—the international highway that went from the east all the way down to Egypt.
“Over the last several months, the enemy armies have been amassing into one, as you know. The ones that came from the west, from the revived Roman Empire, landed at Haifa and went directly up to the Valley of Megiddo.
“The armies from the east came through the dried-up Euphrates and straight down to the same place. It is the perfect staging ground. The armies from the north swept past Mount Hermon and down into the land of Israel, ending up in the Jezreel Valley at Mount Megiddo.”
“Makes sense,” Mac said. “Boy, you missed your callin’.”
Chaim could not keep from grinning. Tsion Ben-Judah, first his protégé and eventually his mentor, once told him that prophecy was history written in advance. Here he was, in his seventies, living out that history.
No manna had fallen since Jesus appeared in the clouds. While Chaim knew that eventually he and all the other mortals would have to eat, he was certain no one felt any more twinge of hunger than he did. The Bread of Life was here.
It was as if fifty years had melted away. Chaim knew he looked the same, but he did not feel fatigue, aches, or pains. He had no serious maladies that had to be healed, but if Rayford was made whole despite his wounds and the infirmary had been closed in an instant, it only made sense that Chaim himself had been delivered from the ravages of age.
He was impressed enough that he had been able to get out of Petra and on the way to Bozrah under his own steam. But when he had begun hurrying, then running, then virtually flying over the terrain, Chaim knew this was no longer of himself. He had neither grown weary nor suffered from joint pain. If he had not had his full attention on his Savior, he might have been tempted to try his favorite childhood game: soccer. Imagine, he thought, an old man cavorting with children.
As the remnant from Petra followed the Lord and His army north toward Jerusalem, Chaim felt himself swelling with appropriate pride and gratitude. Though there had been hundreds of thousands under his authority and care over the past three and a half years, many whom he had never even met let alone gotten to know, he felt a love and responsibility for each. God had been faithful, feeding them, providing water for them, protecting them.
Now, what was next? Would they be expected to go with Jesus to the battle at Armageddon, or would they be directed to Jerusalem? Word from the Holy City was that the Unity Army was merely toying with what was left of the resistance, and that whenever it wanted to and was ready, it could storm the Old City and complete the fall of Jerusalem.
That, Chaim knew, was prophesied and would happen, even with Jesus on the scene. But He would quickly avenge the loss and reverse it, and many more remnant Jews would come into the kingdom.
Most thrilling for Chaim was any time Jesus spoke. How He addressed the entire globe and yet made it so personal was a mystery. But somehow it satisfied that soul hunger Chaim felt for a personal audience with his Lord. Even knowing that everyone else was hearing the same thing, to Chaim it was as if Jesus were—every time—saying, “Chaim, come here. Let Me tell you something.” And, of course, Chaim heard Him in Hebrew.
It was one thing to have flown over the Unity Army and seen it en masse. It was another to ride along on the outskirts of it, seemingly never to come to the end. Rayford had to be impressed by the sheer accomplishment of outfitting such a fighting force. Millions of uniforms, weapons, munitions, vehicles, and various and sundry pieces of equipment made the whole operation appear perfectly supplied for its task. In human terms, they could not lose. They could have overwhelmed any mortal enemy on the planet.
But they faced one Man, the Son of the living God. And they were
defeated before they began.
The remnant on the ground that accompanied Jesus and the heavenly hosts began to sing praises as they ran. But they quickly quieted when Jesus responded.
“For the suffering of death, I was crowned with glory and honor, that I, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. I was the Deliverer who came out of Zion, and I turned away the ungodliness from Jacob. I was the seed of David, raised from the dead, the Mediator of the new covenant. I suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that I might bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.”
Amazingly, there was not even a battle transpiring at the moment, yet thousands of Unity Army soldiers were slain simply by the Lord’s words as He passed by. They were not fighting, not threatening, not advancing or even moving. But they had long since made their decision. They had pledged their loyalty to the god of this world, had willingly taken the mark of Antichrist and bowed the knee to him. For them there was no recourse.
Rayford thrilled to the powerful words of the Master and was horrified by the carnage that resulted from them. His heart was full, and yet he found it difficult to tear his eyes away from the bloodshed on the ground. Oh, what this portended for the army as a whole when the actual fighting ensued! How any of the surviving men and women could see their companions die such horrible deaths—simply from the words pronounced from the sky—and still be willing to stay in the fray was beyond Rayford.
“My enemies have become My footstool,” Jesus said. “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with My own blood I entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. I am the Son of God who has come to give you an understanding, that you may know God who is true.
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I gave is My flesh, which I gave for the life of the world. I am the Word who became flesh and dwelt among you, and you beheld My glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. For in Me dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
“Rayford, take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Every time Jesus spoke his name, Rayford was touched anew. He glanced quickly at his friends and saw that the Lord had communicated to them in the same way. Mac buried his face in his hands, whispering, “Thank You, Jesus.” Abdullah looked as if he wished he could pull over and simply worship God.
Sebastian, who was running with Kenny’s hand in his, felt a tug. He bent to listen and Kenny said, “Jesus’s talkin’ to me!”
“I know!” Sebastian said. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
“We need us a proper church, Brother Enoch.”
“Great idea,” Enoch said. “Who could stop us now?”
“Is it possible all we have to do is find out what’s for sale or rent and go get it?”
“Why not?”
“Can we put a cross on it and call it what it is?”
“If Jesus keeps talking to all of us by name, I don’t see why not. Anybody who tried to come against that would be due the same treatment His enemies are getting all over the world.”
“Let’s do it. Churches are going to be springing up all over the place.”
Over the next two hours of driving, the scene changed noticeably. The farther north Rayford and Mac and Abdullah traveled, the more obvious it was that the Unity Army had dug in and was prepared for the battle of the ages.
They had to know what their counterparts had suffered, but either Carpathia’s broadcasts of encouragement and bravado had succeeded in making them full of themselves, or they were emboldened with the knowledge that they were twice the fighting force their defeated comrades had been. Even with a third of the entire army reduced to nothing, the remainder represented the greatest military power ever assembled.
Maybe they didn’t fully know or understand what had gone on. They could see Jesus and His army, and in the core of their being they had to be unnerved that an enemy on horseback and seemingly unarmed—albeit with the ability to defy gravity and move at incredible speed—could compete at all with a foe such as they.
But Rayford saw organization, might, determination. This was going to be anything but a surrender. And yet nothing in Scripture indicated the result would be any different than what they had seen in Edom.
Chang was intrigued that the path they took from the land of Edom to Megiddo bypassed Jerusalem far to the west. It was as if the Lord knew that the remnant would be most curious about their own hometown. Maybe He wanted them to see what happened at Megiddo.
It was strange, Chang told Naomi, to hear Jesus from the sky and hear Antichrist in his earpiece. At times he simply had to remove it. When Jesus called him by name in Chinese it sent chills through him. When that happened to Naomi, he watched as her eyes grew wide with wonder, and she was speechless for several minutes. Maybe the day would come when they could talk about how intimate that felt, but they avoided the subject for now. To Chang it was just too personal, and he assumed it was the same for her.
Bizarre too was the shadowless light that would apparently exist as long as Jesus was in their midst. Chang found himself trying to make shadows with his hands. An omnipresent light source was something science had never approached. Men who loved darkness rather than light were not going to like the millennial kingdom. The piercing glare of the purity of Christ would make easy His ruling the nations with an iron rod. For believers who loved Him and who loved the truth, His rule would be a marvelous change from the last seven years and, indeed, the millennia before that. But for people interested only in their own gain, still thumbing their noses at God, Jesus’ rule would be most uncomfortable.
It was fun for Chang to be able to converse with Naomi, even when they were running at superhuman speeds. They didn’t have to shout, weren’t panting, and when Jesus was not speaking, they were. Mostly they talked about what it would be like to marry and raise children in such an age. Who would perform the ceremony, and would Jesus Himself attend?
Chang always loved when Jesus began to speak again. The entire remnant fell silent, listening, worshiping their Savior.
“I am He whom God exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
“I give you eternal life, Chang, and you shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch you out of My hand. My Father, who has given you to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch you out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”
“Thank You, Lord,” Chang said.
But He was not finished.
“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.”
Chang could not imagine ever being afraid again.
Mac wanted to be let off to make his way to Jerusalem on foot.
“Are you sure?” Rayford said.
“Unless you order me not to.”
“I don’t see it. What’s the point?”
“I want to know firsthand what’s happening there. I’ll stay in touch by radio and phone. And the way I understand it, I won’t miss a thing the Lord says.”
“You know what’s going to happen, Mac. Jerusalem falls, but then Jesus saves the day.”
“And why wouldn’t I want a front-row seat for that?”
“We’ll get back in time to see it.”
“And by the time you get here, I will have kept you up to date on the details.”
“Suit yourself.”
“Thanks.” And Mac was out of the Hummer heading toward Jerusalem.
“What might the Unity Army do to him if they catch him?” Abdullah said.
Rayford shook his head. “I’d like to think they have no power over him.”
“But we don’t know for sure.”
“No, we don’t.
He knows how to take care of himself.”
“He is unarmed, Captain.”
“In a manner of speaking.”
When Rayford and Abdullah finally arrived at the edge of the Valley of Megiddo, it appeared the Lord and His hosts had left the remnant of Israel about halfway between there and Jerusalem. Rayford could only assume that Jesus wanted the remnant with Him for the Jerusalem conquest and what followed but for some reason did not wish them to witness what was to take place here.
Mac reported that a mammoth contingent of the Unity Army surrounded all of Jerusalem and simply seemed to be waiting for orders. “There’s a lot of unrest among the army here,” he said. “Grumbling. Hunger. Rumors of no pay and no reinforcements. A lot of gossip about what happened in the south.”
“Interesting,” Rayford said. “There is no division between the forces there and here. The immense army is virtually contiguous from west of the Dead Sea to the Valley of Megiddo, so it’s possible some of the ones you see will be put to work here, and vice versa.”
“That’s a huge stretch, Ray. You sayin’ this army’s as big as it’s been since the beginning?”
“Except for the casualties earlier in Edom.”
Mac whistled. “How’s my man Smitty doin’?”
“Happy as a clam. Loves to hear the voice of Jesus.”
“Don’t we all? Tell him Mac says hey.”
George Sebastian mingled with the Tribulation Force contingent at the resting place north of Jerusalem. He couldn’t help but recall how far he had come since the escapade in Greece where he almost lost his life and had to kill to stay alive. “Otherwise,” he told Priscilla, “I’d be waving at you from beyond the skies.”
“We sure didn’t know what we were getting into, did we?” she said.
“Not by a long shot.”
“Our days of soldiering are over, aren’t they?” Razor said.
Sebastian sighed. “I hope so.”
“You tired?” Razor said.
“Actually, no. I should be. Up all day and night, and now, with this light, I have no idea what time it’s supposed to be. And all this traveling? The running? I ought to feel like I could sleep for a month, but I’ve got nothing but energy. Wish I could see what’s going to happen up north.”